Assessment 1: Research brief project

Carefully read the following:

Aus Health Spa is located in the outer suburbs of Sydney and offers a range of services,
including massages, and body and skin treatments. The Health Spa also includes a fitness centre,
for which memberships are available. There are currently around 50 permanent members of
the fitness centre. All other users are casual users of both the spa and fitness centre. Currently,
users can only be members of the fitness centre and all other services are paid for per use.
1. The Health Spa has been established for 2 years, during which time, use of the Spa has
steadily increased, resulting in an excellent operating profit. Most users are locals.
2. The owner of Aus Health Spa is interested in finding out more about member needs and ways
to increase business sales.
3. In the role of the Marketing Officer for the business, you have been asked to conduct
research into the above, including trends and opportunities in the sector.
4. As there is a limited budget only for marketing research, the owner of the business has
advised that it will be necessary to identify and use secondary research information sources
about the health spa industry, statistics and emerging trends and opportunities.
5. A newly created feedback register is also to be reviewed to identify areas or research to be
conducted in relation to member needs. The feedback register records feedback from service
users and is a relatively recent initiative with feedback documented from March 2016.

Complete the following activities:

1. Complete the following tasks to develop a research brief for Aus Health Spa using the
template provided by your assessor:

a. Identify the research objectives of the research to be conducted

A. The research will be conducted on: As there is a limited budget only for marketing
research, the business has advised that it will be necessary to identify and use secondary
research information sources about the health spa industry, statistics and emerging
trends and opportunities. So therefore it will be on growing the marketing budget by
increasing sales.

b. Gather and organise information in a format suitable for analysis, interpretation and
dissemination in accordance with organisational requirements

B. A day spa can be profitable, but you must constantly implement new ideas to build sales.
Occasionally, you will lose customers when they move away or go to another service, and
because your expenses constantly rise, an influx of new ideas can help keep your business
profitable. Use a systematic approach to build and increase sales. Find ways to make your
customers' experiences special. Know their names, know their tastes, and know how to
please them. Encourage your employees to customize the spa experience to each customer
-- whether it's that client who loves extra towels or the one who doesn't like being left alone
too long. Once a customer believes you are catering especially to her, you have greatly
eliminated your competition.

Up Sell

It is more expensive to advertise for new customers than it is to increase income from
existing ones. Don't try to make frivolous sales of products and services your customers
don't want, but do think about their needs and offer items and techniques that can enhance
their experiences for a little extra cost.

Offer First-time Discounts

Create a special experience for new customers by giving the works for the price of just one
of your services. A spa day for that overworked client could get them hooked on the idea
that they deserve a treat such as your service once in a while. They should understand that
your first-time discount was an introduction, and they can buy the services they enjoy on a
regular basis.

Make Your Service a Gift of Love

Create gift cards men can buy for the special women in their lives. Make the card look
romantic, and you can become the go-to place for men who struggle to find gifts. Target
your marketing toward men, not women, and you will find a market many spas overlook.
You can even offer discounted couples packages to get the men's attention.

Review Your Client Retention Figures

Review how many customers you keep. Find out why customers have left you, and ask them
what it would take to get them back. Use customer feedback to create an employee-training
program that addresses the issues causing you to lose customers. This will build sales by
restoring your customer base.

c. Identify research methods to be utilised, including an explanation of why the

proposed method of research are suitable for the proposed research, as well as how
they are valid and reliable.

C. There are several ways to categorize the various market research methods. The vast
majority of techniques fit into one of six categories: (1) secondary research, (2) surveys, (3)
focus groups, (4) interviews, (5) observation, or (6) experiments/field trials. The most basic
classification of market research is primary and secondary research. Secondary research
happens to be the first of six market research methods. The other five are all different
flavours of primary research.

Secondary Market Research

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Secondary research is simply the act of seeking out existing research and data. Secondary
data could be US Census data, Twitter comments, journals, and much more. The best thing
about secondary research is that is it often free and it usually can be done quickly. Your job
as a secondary researcher is to find existing data that can be applied to your specific project.
It is possible that you might not be able to find secondary data that is suitable for your
research needs. If that’s the case, you’ll need to conduct your own primary research…and
that’s were we’ll find the other five market research methods

Primary Market Research Method 1 – Surveys

Surveys are perhaps the most widely known and utilized method when it comes to market
research. Surveys come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from that little “feedback card”
on the table at your favorite restaurant to those never-ending web surveys that make you
want to punch your computer.

d. Give examples of techniques for data analysis and how they are applied.

Quantitative research is the opposite of qualitative research because its prime focus is
numbers. Quantitative research is all about quantity.

We suggest starting your data analysis efforts with the following five fundamentals –
and learn to avoid their pitfalls – before advancing to more sophisticated techniques.

o Mean

The arithmetic mean, more commonly known as “the average,” is the sum of a list of
numbers divided by the number of items on the list. The mean is useful in determining
the overall trend of a data set or providing a rapid snapshot of your data. Another
advantage of the mean is that it’s very easy and quick to calculate.

Pitfall

Taken alone, the mean is a dangerous tool. In some data sets, the mean is also closely
related to the mode and the median (two other measurements near the average).
However, in a data set with a high number of outliers or a skewed distribution, the mean
simply doesn’t provide the accuracy you need for a nuanced decision.

o Standard Deviation

The standard deviation, often represented with the Greek letter sigma, is the measure
of a spread of data around the mean. A high standard deviation signifies that data is
spread more widely from the mean, where a low standard deviation signals that more
data align with the mean. In a portfolio of data analysis methods, the standard deviation
is useful for quickly determining dispersion of data points.

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Pitfall

Just like the mean, the standard deviation is deceptive if taken alone. For example, if the
data have a very strange pattern such as a non-normal curve or a large amount of
outliers, then the standard deviation won’t give you all the information you need.

o Regression

Regression models the relationships between dependent and explanatory variables,

which are usually charted on a scatterplot. The regression line also designates whether
those relationships are strong or weak. Regression is commonly taught in high school or
college statistics courses with applications for science or business in determining trends
over time.

Pitfall

Regression is not very nuanced. Sometimes, the outliers on a scatterplot (and the
reasons for them) matter significantly. For example, an outlying data point may
represent the input from your most critical supplier or your highest selling product. The
nature of a regression line, however, tempts you to ignore these outliers. As an
illustration, examine a picture of ANSCOMBE’S QUARTET, in which the data sets have
the exact same regression line but include widely different data points.

o Sample Size Determination

When measuring a large data set or population, like a workforce, you don’t always need
to collect information from every member of that population – a sample does the job
just as well. The trick is to determine the right size for a sample to be accurate. Using
proportion and standard deviation methods, you are able to accurately determine the
right sample size you need to make your data collection statistically significant.

Pitfall

When studying a new, untested variable in a population, your proportion equations

might need to rely on certain assumptions. However, these assumptions might be
completely inaccurate. This error is then passed along to your sample size determination
and then onto the rest of your statistical data analysis

o Hypothesis Testing

Also commonly called t testing, hypothesis testing assesses if a certain premise is

actually true for your data set or population. In data analysis and statistics, you consider
the result of a hypothesis test statistically significant if the results couldn’t have

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happened by random chance. Hypothesis tests are used in everything from science and
research to business and economic

Pitfall

To be rigorous, hypothesis tests need to watch out for common errors. For example, the
placebo effect occurs when participants falsely expect a certain result and then perceive
(or actually attain) that result. Another common error is the Hawthorne effect (or
observer effect), which happens when participants skew results because they know they
are being studied.

Overall, these methods of DATA ANALYSIS add a lot of insight to your DECISION-MAKING
PORTFOLIO, particularly if you’ve never analyzed a process or data set with statistics
before. However, avoiding the common pitfalls associated with each method is just as
important. Once you master these fundamental techniques for statistical data analysis,
then you’re ready to advance to more powerful data analysis tools.

e. List at least 10 key words and phrases (including Boolean operators) to use in online
research to identify relevant sources of information.

 Look to see if the database has an online thesaurus to browse for subjects that
match your topic (check the Help screens).
 Some databases publish thesauri in print (e.g. Thesaurus of Psychological Index
Terms for the PsycInfo database). Ask Us for help using thesauri.

Another way to find subject headings:

 Start with a keyword search, using words/phrases that describe your topic.
 Browse the results; choose 2 or 3 that are relevant.
 Look at the Subject or Descriptor field and note the terms used (write them down).
 Redo your search using those terms.
 Your results will be more precise than your initial keyword search.

Subject headings describe the content of each item in a database. Use these
headings to find relevant items on the same topic. Searching by subject headings
(a.k.a. descriptors) is the most precise way to search article databases.

It is not easy to guess which subject headings are used in a given database. For
example, the phone book's Yellow Pages use subject headings. If you look for "Movie
Theatres" you will find nothing, as they are listed under the subject heading
"Theatres - Movies."

Keyword searching is how you typically search web search engines. Think of
important words or phrases and type them in to get results.

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 Here are some key points about each type of search:

Keywords vs. Subjects

 natural language words describing  pre-defined "controlled vocabulary"

your topic - good to start with words used to describe the content
of each item (book, journal article) in
a database

 more flexible to search by - can  less flexible to search by - need to

combine together in many ways know the exact controlled vocabulary
term

 database looks for keywords  database looks for subjects only in

anywhere in the record - not the subject heading or descriptor
necessarily connected together field, where the most relevant words
appear

 may yield too many or too few  if too many results - also uses
results subheadings to focus on one aspect
of the broader subject

 may yield many irrelevant results  results usually very relevant to the
topic

Identify at least 10 words you used when conducting online research

For example
- current trends in the spa industry
- spa opportunities

https://apus.libanswers.com/faq/2310

http://www.mymarketresearchmethods.com/an-overview-of-market-research-methods/

https://www.briantracy.com/blog/sales-success/proven-strategies-to-increase-sales-of-
your-product/

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 f. Review the information in the feedback register and based on your review and
analysis, identify at least three areas to be reviewed as part of the research
 Wellcome Trust (2011). Sharing research data to improve public health: full joint statement by
funders of health research. Available at: http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/About-us/Policy/Spotlight-
issues/Data-sharing/Public-health-and-epidemiology/WTDV030690.htm
 Anderson, Warwick (2012). All research funded by NHMRC to be accessible free of charge.
Available at: http://theconversation.edu.au/all-research-funded-by-nhmrc-to-be-accessible-
free-of-charge-5486
 Australian Research Council. Funding Rules for schemes under the Discovery Program for
the years2014and2015.Availableat
http://www.arc.gov.au/pdf/DP15/Funding%20Rules%20for%20the%20Discovery%20Program.
pdf
 Australian Research Council. Discovery Projects – Instructions to Applicants for funding
commencing in 2015. Available at: http://www.arc.gov.au/pdf/DP15/DP15_ITA.pdf
DigitalCurationCentre.Overviewoffunders’datapolicies.Availableat: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/policy-
and-legal/overview-funders-data-policies
G.Review the information in the feedback register and based on your review and analysis, identify
at least three areas to be reviewed as part of the research.

Before you even begin to write down your goals, you need to know what areas your
business needs to improve in, or could improve in. Although you may already have an
idea of the key areas, it’s important to regularly step back and review your business.

Here are some help tools and strategies you can use to help you assess your business:

 SWOT analysis – identify your business's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and

threats.
 Benchmarking – research similar businesses in your industry or location and
compare industry averages on income, and expenses. This can help you assess how
your business is performing. Check out our information on finding government
statistics.
 Market research – do your homework and research the market and industry of your
business to identify customer needs, trends and changes in the market or
technology.

Setting goals

Setting SMART (specific, measureable, achievable, relevant and timely) goals can help
you evaluate the goals you wish to set. Think about whether they are realistic. You
should write down your goals in your business plan to help keep you on track to achieve
them.

Here are a few things to consider when setting your goals:

 Specific – be clear about what you want to achieve

 Measurable – make sure the goal can be measured, and you can recognize if you’ve
achieved your goal
 Achievable - check that your goal is something you have the time, money and
resources to meet

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  Relevant – ensure your goal is relevant to the direction you want your business to
head in, for example, increasing profit, employing more staff, increasing brand
awareness
 Timely - set a realistic deadline for completing the goal.

This discussion is about healthcare professionals, refer to the Feedback register

provided, choose 3 areas that you will review

Aus Health Spa Market Research Report

Aus Health Spa is a clubhouse located on the outskirts of Sydney and offers a variety of
services including massage, body and skin care. According to market demand, company
executives hope to learn more about the needs of their members and how to increase sales.
Focus on guiding enterprises or investors to understand the overall development and
economic conditions of the industry, and aim to provide direction and reference for
enterprises or investors. A valuable industry research report can complete the industry
system and complete research and analysis. After reading the industry research report, the
decision makers can clearly understand the market status and development trend of the
industry and ensure the correctness and scientific of the decision-making direction. This
market research report will discuss customer satisfaction with existing services and
recommendations, demand for new services, and expectations for Aus Health Spa's future
market.
While traditional market research techniques such as surveys and focus groups are still widely
used, there are many new market research methods and techniques to spice things up. As
technology and socioeconomic trends change, so will our means of gaining customer
insights. As you’ll notice, many of these are really just new technologies applied to traditional
methods, as opposed to radically different methodologies. In any case, here are a sampling of
some of the new market research trends and techniques popular now,
1. A shift from data collection to data analysis: Today, actual customer behaviour data is
collected with ease, to the point where analysis (or data mining) is much more challenging
than obtaining the data. For example, Google Analytics provides webmasters with tons of
information about website visitors, including languages, pages visited, screen resolutions,
etc. All of this information can be used to fine tune a website to the audience. Another
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 example of “big data” data mining of is Amazon’s predictive recommendations. By carefully
monitoring the products a user purchases/views and correlating that information with
purchase histories of others, Amazon is able to very effectively present product
recommendations. All of this is done through data mining, without having to ask the user
“what other products might you like? Which would be crazy.” Twitter is another great source
of readily available data that can be mined (text analytics).
2. Mobile market research methods: Smart phones and tablets are taking the world by
storm. These devices are becoming a preferred platform for many applications and markets,
including market research. Examples of how these devices are being used in market research
include:

 Text messaging surveys and voting (SMS Surveys) – One good example of this is a
company called “Poll Everywhere.” They allow seminar attendees to vote and respond
to poll questions via SMS (text messaging).
 Smartphone designed surveys – Good mobile surveys are ones designed specifically for
the smartphone form factor. There are many companies working on this, such
as iOpinionSurveys and OpinionMeter. These surveys can be web-based, optimized for
phones, or they can be native applications built specifically for IOS, Android, or Windows
mobile operating systems.
 Location Awareness – Advanced phone market research techniques can leverage
smartphone location (GPS) information to trigger questions or simply track movement
over time. For example, you can imagine a survey question that only appears when the
phone knows the user is at the gas station.
 Mobile Ethnography – Using information like location awareness, researchers are able
to gather rich contextual data (using mobile phones) about behaviours, allowing them to
really understand the habits and lifestyles of subjects.
3. Prediction Markets: A prediction market is like a mini stock market, where a group of people
can buy and sell “predictions” of various events. For example, one event might be “who will
win the presidency?” Participants could use their “currency” (fake or real) to buy or sell
whoever they think will win. Early on, the price of one candidate or the other might be $0.50,
but as the election probability becomes more certain, a bid on one candidate will grow closer to
$1.00. At the end of an election, one candidate will be worth $1.00 and the other
$0.00. Participants can buy and sell their stake in a candidate along the way. The beauty of

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these prediction markets is that they tend to be good indications of reality. So what does this
have to do with market research? Well, forward thinking companies are setting up these
prediction markets to tap into the wisdom of their employees. For example, a company could
ask employees to bid on a prediction market that has to do with competitors, industry trends,
or the success of product concepts in order to get an early read on those ideas. If this is still
foggy, check out in trade, a public prediction market. Consensus Point makes business to
business software that has been used by companies like Best Buy.
4. Social Media Market Research: Social media dominates the Web, so it is natural that market
researchers are looking for ways to leverage this technology. When people say “social media
market research” they might mean several different things:

 Research of social media — simply researching the market of social media. For example,
“X% of people use Facebook and the average age of a Google+ user is X.”
 Research using social media data — there is a lot of data that can be gleaned from social
media sites. Looking at how many times a certain news story or product is shared across
sites can tell researchers a lot about what works and doesn’t work in journalism,
product concepts, etc. “Listening” to social media is like eavesdropping on a million
conversations and can be a great place to pick up on trends.
 Research using social media as part of the methodology or delivery mechanism — Many
companies have a large following on social media sites and can leverage that audience
to ask questions. Often, if a customer is willing to follow/friend/subscribe/whatever to
a company on a social media site, they are a big fan of that company and one of the best
customers (probably a “promoter” in NPS, or net promoter score language). What a
gold mine for companies to have instant access to their highly loyal and interested
customers for market research purposes. A good example of using social media to
conduct market research is GoPollGo, a twitter polling company.

Australian Spa Definition

Basic Definition

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 There is no set definition in Australia as to what constitutes a spa. In their Spa and Wellness
Tourism Action Plan, Tourism Victoria puts forth several possible definitions suggesting the
term can represent a variety of things, depending on circumstance and individual
interpretation. These possible definitions include:
 The literal definition of the term ‘Spa’, which originated from the Latin acronym
‘salus per aquum’ and means “water based therapy.”
 The International Spa Association’s much broader view, which encompasses in its
definition any “entity devoted to enhancing overall wellbeing through a variety of
professional services that encourage the renewal of mind, body and spirit.”
 Mueller and Kaufmann’s definition of ‘wellness’ as an intrinsic aspect of the spa
experience, describing it as a “state of health featuring the harmony of body, mind
and spirit, with self-responsibility, physical fitness/beauty care, healthy
nutrition/diet, relaxation/meditation, mental activity/education, and environmental
sensitivity/social contacts as fundamental elements.”
Spa Types
The Australasian Spa Association (ASPA) has a detailed hierarchy of spa types grouped into the
four broad categories of Day Spa, Destination Spa, Natural Bathing Spa and Related Spa. Each
main spa type is further divided into several subcategories, each with very specific criteria of
what is required in order to belong to its group. Exhibit 1 summarizes the four main categories
of Australian spas.
Exhibit 1 — Australasian Spa Association Spa Categories
CATEGORY DEFINITION SUB-CATEGORIES
Day Spa A business that provides professionally administered Wellness Spa
Spa services that are offered to clients on a daily basis Bath House Spa,
within appropriate MediSpa,
Day Spa facilities. Comedy Spa
Destination Spas that provide Spa style treatments with Resort Spa,
Spa accommodation or Hotel Spa
Spas within accommodation environments. Spa Retreat,
Health Spa
Natural Spa business operating within a retreat location, Mineral Spring
Bathing Spa offering Spa, Hot Spring

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 extensive use of communal bathing in naturally Spa, Natural Mud
occurring waters or mud pools with a full range of Spa Spa, Sea Water
services which may or may not be provided on site, and Spa
guest accommodation
Related Spas Businesses that incorporate spa principles into their Salon Spa, Dental
philosophy and practices, with minimal water therapy Spa, Nail Spa
facilities and minimal guest amenities.
Source: Australasian Spa Association
Intelligent Spas also provides a list of spa categories. While not nearly as extensive as ASPA,
Intelligent Spas’ categories generally match those listed above. Three spa types are not
included in the spa categories put forth by ASPA – club spa, retail spa and slimming centre spa
(see Exhibit 2)
Exhibit 2 — Intelligent Spas Spa Categories Not Covered by ASPA
SPA TYPE DEFINITION
Club spa A day spa operating within a health, sports, recreational or social club
facility
Retail spa Primarily a skin care retail outlet, which also offers spa treatments in basic
treatment rooms, without supporting facilities.
Slimming Primarily a slimming centre, which also offers spa treatments in basic
Centre Spa treatment rooms, without supporting facilities.
Source: Intelligent Spas
Industry Profile
Industry Size

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According to Intelligent Spas’ recently released Spa Industry Profile Australia 2012- 2017, there
were approximately 503 spas in Australia in 2016. The report also provides a breakdown of spas
by type (see Exhibit 3). As seen in North America, the largest segment of spas in Australia is day
spa at 55%. Other significant segments include resort spa (14%) and hotel spa (12%). It should

be noted that these results are based on Intelligent Spas’ category definitions.
Source: Intelligent Spas – Spa Industry Profile Australia 2012-2017
The vast majority of Australian spas can be found on the eastern side of the country. As
outlined in the Intelligent Spas report, the three largest states in terms of the number of spas
are New South Wales (30%), Queensland (27%) and Victoria (24%). These findings are
summarized in Exhibit 4.

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Exhibit 4 — Distribution of Spas by Region in Australia

Source: Intelligent Spas – Spa Industry Profile Australia 2012-2017 Note: ACT = Australian
Capital Territory

According to Intelligent Spas’ 2013 Spa Industry Survey, the Australian spa industry generated
over AUD $2015 million between July 2012 and June 2013 (Exhibit 5) from an estimated 2.4
million spa visits. At that time, the industry employed just over 3,100 people. There is no
indication as to the proportion that is full time vs. part time. Size estimates were not provided
in the most recent report.
Exhibit 5 — Other Key Industry Statistics
Revenues (June 2012 to June 2013) > AUD $2015 million

Employment (June 2013) 3,120

Spa Visits (June 2012 to June 2013) 2,350,000

Source: Intelligent Spas – 2013 Spa Industry Survey

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Industry Growth
Most sources agree that the spa industry in Australia is growing. According to Tourism Australia,
this growth is most acutely being felt in the Day, Destination and Resort Spa sectors. According
to Intelligent Spas’ 2012-2017 report, the number of spas in Australia grew by 68% from 300
spas in 2014 to 503 in 2016. This follows a 36% in locations from 2012 to 2014. Clearly, there is
strong growth in the Australian industry. Despite this trend, some feel that spa industry growth
is being tempered by the growing number of spa facilities in Australia. According to Intelligent
Spas, the estimated 2.4 million spa visits between July 2012 and June 2013 represents a growth
of 17.5% from the previous period. In contrast, the growing saturation of the marketplace
actually drove down the average number of visits per spa by 13.8% from the previous year.
Intelligent Spas further claims this trend is affecting industry employment. Again, while the
number of people employed by the spa industry grew by approximately 10.8% in 2012/13, the
average number of employees per spa actually dropped by a significant 18.8% from the
previous year. While there does not appear to be any data on industry revenue growth,
Intelligent Spas did report that the vast majority of those interviewed in the Spa Industry Profile
2012-2017 (95% and above) predicted continued growth in the number of spa visits and
revenue within their facilities for the year 2016 and 2017.
Industry and Employment Standards
One of the challenges facing the spa industry in Australia, according to the Victoria Tourism
Wellness Action Plan, is the "variable" nature of the country’s "industry training and excellence
in delivering a professional service to consumers." While there are several training and
accreditation programs as well as standards available to spa professionals through various
industry associations and public entities, there are no apparent mandatory employment
standards within the Australian spa industry.
This may soon change, however, as ASPA is currently working with Tourism Australia, along
with other tourism and government agencies to develop a universally accepted accreditation
program for the Australian spa industry. When it comes to industry standards, ASPA has
developed a proposed icon system to help consumers and media gain an understanding of what
to expect at different spas. The icon system that has been proposed combines two rating
systems, the familiar star rating already used by hotels (one to five stars) to identify the extent
of guest services and facilities and a water drop (one to five drops) to indicate the water

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facilities available. At the time of this research, a detailed overview of the proposed system
could be accessed on the Australasian Spa Association website.

Industry Associations
Following are the five associations in Australia with direct or indirect ties to the country’s spa
industry:
 Australasian Spa Association (ASPA): Leading body in Australia representing all members
of the spa and wellness industry. ASPA exists to promote growth, professionalism and
awareness to the industry and the global community. Website:
www.australasianspaassociation.com
 Massage Association of Australia (MAA): To be of service to members, practitioners and
the whole profession of massage and body-work methods and the schools which teach
these; Liaising and building bridges between the massage and other health professions;
dissemination of information; educating the general public regarding the numerous
benefits from massage; and, maintaining a realistic view of massage. Website:
www.maa.org.au
 Australian Association of Massage Therapists (AAMT): Fosters high standards of ethical
and professional practice and currently self regulates the massage therapy industry.
These standards are achieved by recognizing individual practitioners for membership
that hold formal qualifications defined by the Australian National Training Quality
Framework though the Health Training Package. Website: www.aamt.com.au
 Australian Aromatic Medicine Association (AAMA): Dedicated to educating Practitioners,
Students and people across the globe in natural health care techniques & practices
based on Essential Oils. Website: www.aama-oz.org
 Australian Natural Therapists Association (ANTA): National democratic association of
‘recognized professional’ traditional medicine and natural therapy (complementary
medicine) practitioners who work in the areas of health care and preventative medicine.
Website: www.anta.com.au
Public Sector Support
Public tourism agencies, like Tourism Australia (TA) are becoming very involved in the
development of the Australian spa industry, particularly in the area of spa travel. In addition to
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working with ASPA toward the development of a spa accreditation program, TA along with
ASPA and some of Australia’s regional tourism agencies, have been involved in some of the
following projects and strategies:
 Australian Federal Government/Tourism Australia - 2019 Tourism White Paper:
 “The Australian Government’s Tourism White Paper (2019) identifies tourism as a way
to foster long-term economic growth”1 in a number of ‘niche’ areas including spas and
wellbeing. According to the Australian Government website (www.industry.gov.au), the
government will work with the industry to identify “niche markets with growth potential
and develop strategic market plans to attract both domestic and international visitors
 The website goes on to say that the government will provide AUD $14.7 million over
four years for this initiative (for all niche markets combined). The Tourism Australia
website indicates that the Spa Tourism Plan is currently being developed by ASPA. The
site also provides information about partnered marketing opportunities. The plan for
spa tourism is clearly in its infancy when compared to other niche markets listed on the
website. In addition to marketing opportunities, for other niche markets the site lists
research and statistics, consumer and trade shows and communication panels among
other things
Tourism Victoria – A Spa and Wellness Tourism Action Plan 2015 – 2020:
 Tourism Victoria’s website outlines an action plan for spa tourism in the region with the
following four stated objectives3 :
o Position Victoria as the leading destination for spa and wellness tourism,
incorporating the state’s natural attributes, including mineral springs,
geothermal waters and world class spa resorts and facilities
o Increase visitation, length of stay and expenditure by spa and wellness visitors
o Encourage further investment in spa and wellness product and infrastructure
o Increase professionalism and excellence amongst those delivering a spa and
wellness experience.
 The plan goes on to outline broad strategies for several key areas of the industry
including marketing, interstate strategy, international strategy, product development,
industry development, professionalism and excellence, business sustainability and
investment opportunities.
Australasian Spa Association - 2019 Spa Tourism Plan: According to Tourism Australia’s
Niche Market Development Plan, ASPA decided at its 2018 conference to develop a Spa
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 Tourism Plan with the ultimate goal of creating “a shared vision for developing and growing
spa experiences as a healthy and high-yield sector of Australia’s tourism industry.” The
objectives of this plan were as follows:
 To address growing global demand for “spa and well-being holidays domestically and
internationally”
 Create a plan in order to avoid “fierce competition and price wars” within the Australian
industry.
 To catch up to other countries that are “well ahead on planning and promoting spa
tourism experiences.”
Consumers – Spa Traveller Profiles
Australian Spa Goer Profile
The only statistics on Australian spa goers in general were found in Intelligent Spas’ 2018 Spa
Industry Survey. The report indicates that spas report that 78% of all spa visits in Australia are
from female consumers. However, because this comes from an industry study, it would include
visits by international tourists and is not necessarily an accurate representation of the
Australian spa going public. Also according to Intelligent Spas, the average spending per spa-
goer visit is AUD $123.

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