The third annual Spa and Wellness Association of African (SWAA) conference was held last week at the Heritage Le Telfair Golf and Spa Resort. Professionals in the spa and wellness field from around the world were present to discuss opportunities and challenges for the continent’s wellness industry.
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The Spa and Wellness Association of Africa (SWAA), a non-profit association founded in 2010 and led by expert volunteers in the industry, organised its 3rd annual conference at the Heritage Le Telfair Golf and Spa Resort last week. The event gathered international thought leaders to connect and discuss about potentials of the African continent in the industry but also challenges the African wellness industry face to respond to the growth ahead.
“One of SWAA’s main objectives is to provide a platform for the growth of the spa and wellness industry in Africa. In order to achieve this, we host the only annual African Spa and Wellness conference on the continent. This event brings together stakeholders from the African wellness industry but also international speakers and brands to share their experiences,” explains the president of SWAA, Elaine Okeke-Martin.
Delegates came from Paris, Namibia, US, London, South Africa, Nigeria, Hong Kong, Bali and Mauritius. During the two-day conference, several topics were discussed, not only to provide a view of the importance of Africa’s role in the growing industry but also on what Africa can do to prepare for the International Market for Wellness Tourism, training solutions to challenges, the need for education, among others.
“On the first day, we had several panel discussions on namely opportunities and challenges, the preparation for growth, African solutions that embrace the diversity and peculiarity of the continent, the needs for education, the Benefits of Wellness Approach Versus Standard by Helene Cassan Divisional Manager of Seven Colours Spa, Mauritius, continuous professional training, a presentation on Mother Nature’s remedy for wrinkles by Microbiologist Bianca Fribrich from the University of Pretoria, the case study of a success story of South African Spa Association and a presentation on the theories behind the modality of Vibrational Sound Healing by Vibrational Sound Therapist Susan Gwaltney. Lisa Starr from the Wynne Business USA spoke about what Africa can do to prepare for the International Market for Wellness Tourism. We also had a presentation from students of the Rushmore Business School on a case study on the general statistics overview on the number of therapists schools in Africa, accreditations and certifications and what is available and where, including number of skilled therapists in Mauritius,” says Elaine Okeke-Martin.
On day two, presentations were done on ‘Harnessing Scent to Explore and Communicate the Ethos of a Hotel & Spa – from Concept to Execution by Tammy Frazer and a presentation on Incorporating Traditional Knowledge & Resources Into Spa Treatments with Almarie Venter. The sessions focused on the Marketing. “This year we focused on topics like Marketing experiential brands in the online video era, the importance of storytelling in the marketing of brands, a look at global trends in luxury and experiential brands in an evolving media-scape and how to commercialise your brand with Kubi Springer from She Builds Brands London.”
Elaine Okeke-Martin, President of SWAA : “The aim is to recognise”
The President of SWAA explains that one of the aims of the association is to give recognition to people, of the African continent, in the industry. “According to the GWI, Sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest growing spa market, with wellness tourism growing 50% faster than normal tourism. SWAA is accrediting spa and wellness centers after evaluation of adherence to the quality standards laid. Accreditation is public recognition by the National Accreditation Body of the achievement of accreditation standard by a health wellness organization, demonstrated through an independent external peer assessment of that organization’s level of performance in relation to standard. It is a voluntary program,” explains Elaine Okeke-Martin.
The outcome has been to give to the industry discussions and topics, give education and workshops and the feedback has been positive. We also have things we need to do better like booking online."
She highlights that “A ‘Mark of Excellence’ Well be provided to the accredited centers and gives confidence to the tourists and locals that the centers are providing services as per global standards and by credential staff or Qualified and certified therapists and rights of customers are protected. Emphasis is given on infection control practices and environment safety aspects. Wellness centres include; Spas, Yoga & Naturopathy Centers, Fitness Centers, Skin Care Centers, Ayurveda Centres, Medical Spas etc…”
What will the SWAA certificate bring to spas and wellness centers in Mauritius? “Our certificate brings recognition of the individual or spa or institute members and allows the customer know this is a certified place or person. We support existing international accreditations bodies and add on to that to give the continent or country in Africa that extra competitive edge needed. Our goal is to promote Mauritius as wellness destination in African that people can come to and we can say that we vet this country.” Elaine states that SWAA has received the support of the Mauritian government. SWAA has been supported by e.g MTPA last year by giving us coverage on the event. But this year we have decided to partner and collaborate for the future.”
The President of SWAA underlines that the conference in Mauritius has been fruitful. “The outcome has been to give to the industry discussions and topics, give education and workshops and the feedback has been positive. We also have things we need to do better like booking online. For example in Mauritius itself, people have started to book for spa and wellness treatments online. It is important.”
What is Spa and Wellness Association of Africa (SWAA)?
The Spa & Wellness Association of Africa (SWAA) is a non-profit association founded in 2010 and led by expert volunteers. We unite Member National Spa and Wellness Societies, Businesses, Educators and individual members, to develop and maintain internationally recognised standards while giving members a platform to channel their voice for the spa & wellness industry in Africa.
The association has seen a need for regional Coalition of countries to meet the challenges presented by the growth of Africa spa & wellness industry, while gathering market information in regions. We work alongside the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health boards and Operators to set quality standards and encourage education and preventive health measures within the spa, health, and wellness industry. The association coalition allows us to reach out to the global spa & wellness community and keep our finger on the pulse of spa & wellness. Diversity is our strength.
Helene Cassan Divisional Manager of Seven Colours Spa
For the Divisional Manager of Seven Colours Spa of the VLH Group, the SWAA conference in Mauritius is very beneficial. “Mauritius as a destination has a great potential in terms of spa and wellness. The importance of having such a conference from the SWAA being held in our island is that it allows us to gather and be at the forefront of the latest developments in that industry. It also allows us to demark ourselves in the spa and wellness industry in line with the great number of tourists who come not only to relax but also to benefit from all the spa and wellness facilities here.”
Helene Cassan highlights that the advantage for Mauritius is that is already has a great know-how in terms of spa and wellness. However, she states that Mauritius still has to make itself recognized in the region but also internationally. “We are not yet know for our spa and wellness spa know-how. We must thus put it forward and make it known around the world. We are today capable, in all of our hotels, to offer spa and wellness treatments of high quality.”
She explains that the spa and wellness industry and market is changing. “The focus is now more on the wellness than on the spa. This is what operators must try to focus on. We should not only offer massages, facial and beauty treatments. We should offer experiences to our clients such as in nature, courses on wellness DIYs and many others. Some centers have already started it. This is how we would be able to say that we are a wellness destination. We also have the advantage of having many professionals in tai-chi, yoga and many others fields which allows us to offer wellness experiences to our clientele.”
However, Helene believes that training is vital for the development in the industry. “We have institutions in the island which offer courses in spa and wellness. However, the issue is that we do not have many students who opt for this as a field of study and also a career prospect. More surprisingly we lack human resource that is spa therapist in our hotels around the island. At VLH we have set up a training system in our hotels to train youth who are interested and passionate about the hotel industry and have not received training in spa. So we train them so that they can integrate the field.” She underlines that a sensitization campaign with our Mauritian youth on the career prospects in the spa and wellness industry is a must. “We have the sensitize them regarding the various opportunities and benefits there is in that industry.”
Dakshinya Narainsamy : Student from Rushmore Business School
Doing her diploma in Spa and Wellness therapy at Rushmore Business School, Dakshinya says that she has decided to integrate the industry given the many opportunities it presents. “I am very passionate about spa and wellness. I believe that it is a booming industry in the island and that our youth should seize the occasion to become professionals. It also offers many advantages and is also well paid. I would definitely encourage our youth to do their training, become certified therapist and join the spa and wellness industry.”
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