news update Report: Middle East spa growth projections
The Ngai Tahu Maori tribe is planning a NZ$25m hot springs complex in Queenstown
New Zealand thermal springs industry heats up Plans for three thermal spa projects are underway in New Zealand, indicating that development in the country’s hot springs sector is getting hotter. Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa, near Christchurch, is looking to build a European-style day spa in the historic Chisholm Ward of the Queen Mary Hospital located next to the thermal attraction. The hospital once served as a convalescent home for World War One soldiers who were treated using the natural thermal waters. Hanmer Springs general manager Graeme Abbot says a NZ$15m (US$9.4m, €8.4m, £6.1m) investment is required to create the day spa and he’s looking for a joint venture investor to make that happen. “There’s nothing else like this in the country,” says Abbot. “...This would be the largest one-off tourism investment ever made in the Hurunui and will help attract
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick
both domestic and international visitors.” Meanwhile, in the hot springs region of Rotorua, mayor Steve Chadwick is calling for a focus on hot spring and spa development. The locale is famed for its natural thermal pools, but they’ve been relatively unused. “Internationally, the real big growth area for the spa industry is health and wellness in locations where hot springs naturally occur,” says Chadwick. Also in the Rotorua district, Prime Minister John Key says the government will help fund a NZ$10m (US$7.3m, €7m, £5m) spa complex which is expected to boost the country’s economy and create additional jobs. The World Spa hotel and spa complex is being built to “reignite excitement about the spa offerings” in the area. It’s also expected to help grow the number of commercial spa visits from around 500,000 to 1.5 million. And in Queenstown, plans have been proposed for a NZ$25m (US$17m, €15m, £11m) hot pools and spa complex that’s expected to draw more than 300,000 customers annually. The tourism arm of the Ngai Tahu Maori tribe is in talks to lease 1.8 acres for development, to include 12 hot pools, four smaller private hot pools and a health spa. Ngai Tahu Tourism already owns and operates nine other attractions, including the Glacier Hot Pools at Franz Josef on the west coast. Read more: http://lei.sr?a=s4B8p_B
Research company Intelligent Spas has released its first Spa Development Pipeline Report, which identified 139 spa openings planned in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE between 2015 and 2019. This will potentially increase the number of spas in the region by 27 per cent. Saudi Arabia has the highest growth potential, with the number of spas set to increase 34 per cent by 2018. Meanwhile, Oman’s spa industry is set to grow by 23 per cent. Dubai hosts the highest number of spas out of the GCC states, with over 190 currently in operation and another 34 spas in the pipeline. Read more: http://lei.sr?a=A2D5w_B
Brokers and bankers will use the spa
Spa plans in new Saudi Stock Exchange building Spa Creators, a UK-based consultancy, is working on a spa and leisure development in the Tadawul Tower, future home of Saudi Arabia’s Stock Exchange which is due to open in late 2016. The 750sq m (8,073sq ft) spa is designed for the exclusive use of the occupants of the building, and will include separate men’s and women’s spas. The spa will include a vitality pool, steamroom, sauna, experience showers, several treatment rooms and a large fitness centre. Read more: http://lei.sr?a=Z6y2M_B ©CYBERTREK 2015
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