Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Round' About (Happenings, Events and APSWC Meetings)

APRIL 07


  • Spa & Wellness Association of Nepal (SWAN)
    Founded through the hard work of a number of committed spa professionals in Nepal including Donald Cha and Carroll Dunham, the Spa & Wellness Association of Nepal (SWAN) officially incorporated in April 07. The Founding President is Mr. Prakash Shrestha. As with all associations in their infancy, SWAN is on an active membership drive at the moment and is accepting membership from all interested parties. Congratulations!!!

MAY 2007

  • NSPA Conference Tokyo, Japan - The Nippon Spa Association hosted 8 APSWC representatives (Andrew Jacka, Datin Ramona Suleiman, Dr Theresa Chew, Jacqueline le Sueur, Alexandra Sutopo, Marjorie Lopingco, Shenyn Wang, JB Lee) to its conference that was attended by delegates from Japan and Korea. Each representative gave 2 presentations and several also gave workshops. Our welcome was so warm, our input so welcome and all APSWC reps agreed that in terms of organization and thought this was one of the best events we had attended even though in terms of size it was relatively small. It certainly brought home the value of what we do in the Council when we had people lining up to ask questions as we circulated during the buffet Gala Dinner! Our thanks to Dobashi-san and all at NSPA for such a fruitful and enjoyable time.

  • APSWC Meeting NSPA Conference, Tokyo, Japan - Minutes of the meeting have been circulated. The Baccarat Award was handed to NSPA and Mr. JB Lee brought formally Korea into the APSWC though the auspices of KISPA (the Korean International Spa Association). He has stepped to the helm as its Councilor until formal nominations and selection take place at a future date. Welcome!

  • Global Spa Summit New York City, USA - On May 21 & 22, around 250 leaders of the spa industry gathered in New York for the inaugural Global Spa Summit. Speakers included APSWC Chairperson Samantha Foster and Secretary/Media Relations Director, Carina Chatlani. Hosted by Spa Finder Magazine, the objective was very similar to APSWC's plan for its Bali meeting: to identify key issues affecting the industry. 'People, Profit & Planet" were recently announced (in Spa Opportunities) as the three key areas of concern, proving that the issues we face in the Asia-Pacific are not specific to our region. It is uncertain at this point what actions will transpire from the Global Spa Summit; however you can be assured that APSWC will play a part of it!


  • LOHAS California, USA - Lohas 11 was hosted at the Marriott Hotel in Marina Del Rey, California on May 14-16th, 2007. Kudos goes to the Lohas Planning Committee for their well put together conference which attracted visionaries from Asia to the shores of Canada. The 'Lifestyles of Health & Sustainability' consumer was surely not disappointed and with sponsors ranging from Office Depot to Walmart, expectations were focused on the alignment to core ethics and values to be demonstrated.

JUNE 2007

  • KISPA - Inaugural Conference, Korea - Attended by delegates from the immediate region, KISPA held their inaugural conference at the beginning of the month. KISPA aims to foster exchange of information amongst members of the spa community in Korea to enable the growth of the industry, to promote public health and boost tourism and other related industries.

  • SPA LIFESTYLE ASSOCIATION, Hong Kong - The working title arrived at by a working group of spa professionals in HK who are aiming to get a fully fledged spa association up and running in the very near future. "The Hong Kong spa industry includes a lot of small non-hotel beauty operations and so we wanted to include those businesses without alienating them by using words such as "wellness" or "industry" and so on in the name. It's a working title which may change and we have a meeting scheduled for August to discuss this further," said Michelle Ho, the SLA's contact person. Watch this space for more news.

  • VIETNAM- Setup of Vietnam Spa and Wellness Association
    Vietnam is undergoing the process of applying to the authority for the formal set up of the Vietnam Spa and Wellness Association. In addition to liaising with the relevant authorities to understand the actual process of setting up an association in Vietnam, we have already submitted an official letter of intent to the Ministry for approval of the spa association. We are excited to be fronting the development of the spa association for Vietnam and will be inviting relevant players in the spa and wellness field in Vietnam to join us in the Pro-Tem committee. We are also registering the website domain address for the association and will keep the council updated once the website is up. Watch this space!

  • BALI - Bali Spa & Wellness Association Task Forces
    Following on from the models established at the Strategic Planning Forum this year, the BSWA has set in motion five task forces of their own - Education, Standards & Procedure, Website, Membership and Survey/Statistics. These are aimed at identifying and improving areas of common concern in the industry in Indonesia as well as fostering closer cooperation with ASPI (the Indonesian Spa Association in Jakarta).

JULY 2007

  • APSWC Meeting and Seminar at Cosmobeaute, KL, Malaysia
    A meeting of the Council in the morning, with 13 Board Members and Councillors plus 3 observers in attendance from 7 countries, was followed by a 'meet the press' luncheon. In the afternoon the APSWC held a seminar on Trends in the Spa Industry in the region as well a the impact these trends and the growth of the industry is having on the Five Pillars - People, Professionalisation, Products, Profit and Planet. As always, it was good to get together with friends and colleagues; a productive and enjoyable time had by all. Thank you to all who brought collateral for the Council booth and to the team members of AMSPA who manned it for the duration of the event.


  • ASPA Annual Conference 28-31 July Sydney, Australia
    An interesting platform of speakers included APSWC Chairperson Samantha Foster and Dieter Buchner, member of the People & Professionalisation Task Forces. Delegates came from around the region and this is fast becoming a 'not-to-be-missed' event in the spa/wellness calendar.

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