2024 ISPA U . S . Spa Industry Study LOCATIONS
Conference attendees .“ Our current figures show openings outpacing closures . The spa industry has an impressive reach across the whole of the U . S ., with a particularly strong concentration in the southwest .”
Spas report more visits Total visits completed the good news of the Big Five numbers , with 2023 ’ s 182 million sessions notching a million visits more than a year prior . n
The Big Five Spa Industry Journey
370,100 , a 2.6 percent increase over 2022 . Delving more deeply into employment figures , the number of full-time staff members has nearly recovered to pre-Covid numbers ;
part-time employee count has surpassed previous highs ; and the number of spa contractors , which has declined steadily in the past decade and a half , ticked up slightly in year-over-year figures .
“ It ’ s encouraging to see the overall numbers employed in the spa industry across the full range of jobs continues to grow ,” said McIlheney , who pointed out “ the balance of fulltime and part-time remained constant at 50 / 50 over the last few years . Again , this emphasizes the important role of the spa industry as a key driver of the U . S . economy .”
New openings expand the spa map The number of spa facilities edged upward in 2023 , increasing 0.2 percent to 21,840 locations .
“ Even during the days of lockdown , there were new spas being prepared for opening day ,” McIlheney noted to
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2024 ISPA U . S . Spa Industry Study
182 MILLION VISITS – STEADY GROWTH , BUT WORK STILL TO BE DONE
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A Word of Caution : “ Assuming a three percent growth rate in annual visits , in 2018 / 2019 we would have predicted 216 million-plus visits in 2023 — meaning we were 40 million visits short but patting ourselves on the back about post-Covid ‘ recovery .’ We still have progress to make before we ’ re fully back on track .”
— TODD SHAW , ISPA FOUNDATION
The Spa Industry ’ s Journey
COMPARING 2023 ’ S “ BIG FIVE ” statistics with the same data points from the first year of the U . S . Spa Industry Study in 1999 is gratifying . All five benchmarks have recorded significant upswings .
“ It is often said that the history of the U . S . spa industry can ’ t be written without referring to the substantial research that has been undertaken ,” PwC ’ s Colin McIlheney believes .
“ It has been wonderful to see the level of engagement by the industry . I want to express our gratitude to everyone who has contributed to making this study such a success . I would also encourage everyone to take part in the 2025 version because it is so important to identify key trends and reflect on emerging issues in the industry .”
JUNE 2024 n PULSE 45