The Asia Pacific Spa & Wellness Coalition (APSWC) has issued an update on various projects it is undertaking, including a number of networking and educational events in capital cities around Asia.

A Japanese Study Tour is being planned for the end of 2015 in collaboration with the Nippon Spa Association. “Participants will tour a number of Japanese onsen during the winter season and examine how these and the associated rituals have become integrated with daily Japanese life,” read a statement. The APSWC led a Study Tour in Bhutan in 2011.

An APSWC networking event will take place in Bangkok on 20 September at a tapas bar and restaurant called Above Eleven in the first of the Coalition’s city networking series. The next such events will be held in Singapore and Manila.

The updated list of APSWC board members was announced in the newsletter and will now include Rhett Pickering, chair; Intan Indahsari, secretary; Angelyn Lim, treasurer; Samantha Foster; Kristina Pacheco; Sharon Menzies; Joy Menzies; Richard Williams; Paul Morris; Manish Patwardhan; and Cathy Turvill.

The fourth Asia-Pacific edition of the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit was highlighted in the APSWC update and will be held in Hong Kong from 10-11 November. Two interactive workshops will be on offer and three conference sessions will take place, bringing together key organisations involved in sustainability in the Asian beauty industry. Organised by Organic Monitor, the European edition of this event will take place in Paris from 24-26 November.

The Coalition will be releasing its Affiliates Charter soon, which will allow any association or business entity requiring an affiliation with or endorsement by the APSWC to enjoy a transparent and easy application process. The Coalition’s logo, which will be available for use by affiliates, has been revised by GOCO Hospitality.

Brian Hathaway, former chair of the APSWC who passed away in early 2014, was commemorated within the Coalition’s newsletter – which revealed plans to honour him in March 2015 at an event in Bali.