spas focused on wellness generate more average income than their generic counterparts, according to a report published by Intelligent Spas.

The first-ever detailed benchmark report on wellness spas also revealed that they employ more people, attract a greater percentage of local residents, and generate more revenue per square metre/foot.

Intelligent Spas defined a wellness spa as offering a variety of spa treatments and packages incorporating wellness attributes, health and fitness related services, classes and consultations, plus an emphasis on wellness throughout its branding. The research was conducted by selected spa owners and managers.

Additional benchmarks revealed:

• The wellness spas surveyed generated over US$1m (€930,000, £801,000) in average annual revenue per spa in the last financial year

• They contained 12.5 treatment rooms on average• 56 per cent of total spa visits were females

• On average, 63 per cent of spa visitors were local residents• 46 per cent of the spa clients were return visitors

"Wellness spa owners and managers may benchmark their performance against these unique key performance indicators to identify areas of strength or weakness, then create a relevant plan to protect their business," said Julie Garrow, managing director of Intelligent Spas.

"Whereas, those who aspire to, or are considering adding more wellness services or wellness-inspired treatments, may use the research findings to learn more about the relevant performance benchmarks and develop strategies for incorporating more wellness into their menus and facilities."

Intelligent Spas has also released new industry benchmarks for the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC), reporting that the region generated over US$615 million (€568m, £489m) last financial year.

However, spa owners and managers are forecasting a decrease in revenue in the next period as competition increases with many new spas planning to enter the market, according to Intelligent Spas previous Spa Development Pipeline Report.

"The GCC Spa Benchmark Report helps spa owners and operators identify how they are performing in comparison to their peers, enabling them to quickly implement tactics to realise opportunities or improve areas of threat," said Garrow.

"We also added a new survey question, asking spas what they believe their unique selling proposition is, which provided further industry insights."

The main contents of the report include total spas, revenue, visits and employment; employees and visitors; hotel performance; spa business models; spa infrastructure; spa industry trends and unique selling propositions.

Intelligent Spas is the only independent research company specialising in the spa industry which provides consistent, reliable research globally.