Spa Benchmarks for South Africa have been released for 2014 - following on from previous research conducted five years ago - noting an increase of 261 per cent in the region’s industry revenue up to 31 March 2014, reaching ZAR1.4bn (US$119m, €100m, £78m).

Independent research company Intelligent Spas has created an updated version of the South African Spa Benchmark Report 2008. According to the latest data, more than 2.5m people visited a spa in South Africa in the financial year ending 31 March 2014. This figure represents a 162 per cent increase since 2008.

Spas in South Africa employed almost 5,000 people in 2014, according to the data, which is a 90 per cent increase compared to the employment figures of 2008.

Average revenue per spa increased by 49 per cent over the last five years to reach ZAR2.8m (US$232,000, €214,000, £154,000).

The average size of spas has increased by 34 per cent since 2008 to reach 554sq m (5,963sq ft). The number of combination dry or wet treatment rooms has increased by 33 per cent over the same period.

In 2014, South African spas received 34 per cent of revenue from massage services. Overall, 39 per cent of total expenses in 2014 was allocated to salaries, wages and bonuses. The average annual treatment revenue per spa in 2014 was ZAR1.85m (US$158,000, €132,000, £104,000).

Less encouragingly for the fledgling market, annual visits per spa are forecasted to increase by just one per cent in 2015, with day spas and resort spas predicting decreases of 22 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.

As for client demographics, 70 per cent of 2014 spa visitors were women and 30 per cent were men. The majority of spa goers in 2014 were aged between 30 and 49 years old. On average, 46 per cent of spa visitors were local residents, 25 per cent were domestic tourists and 29 per cent were international tourists.

Overall, average revenue per visit in 2014 was ZAR695 (US$59, €50, £39). Average revenue per employee in 2014 was ZAR301,835 (US$26,000, €22,000 £17,000).

South African spas averaged 489 annual visits per employee during 2014, a 22 per cent increase since 2012. The repeat visitation rate in 2014 was 38 per cent – a decrease of 16 per cent compared to 2013.

Julie Garrow, managing director of Intelligent Spas said: “This new report provides a timely resource for those working in the South African spa industry, to make the necessary modifications to their business and successfully adapt to these changes in order to maximise their own performance.”

The full report is available to all South Africa Spa Association members or available for purchase and download at www.IntelligentSpas.com. The full report includes more information on industry growth and value, financial and performance benchmarks, a breakdown of visitor profiles, spa benchmark ratios, business models, infrastructure, menus and trends.