BY JOSH CORMAN

IN A TYPICAL YEAR , ISPA Conference & Expo attendees would have recently gathered in eager anticipation as Colin McIlheney of PriceWaterhouseCoopers revealed key metrics concerning the spa industry ’ s year-over-year performance . The unveiling of the “ Big Five ” statistics has become a welcome ritual for an industry that has seen such strong growth in the decade following the Great Recession .

Needless to say , 2020 hasn ’ t been a typical year for the spa industry — or anyone else , for that matter — and like so many rituals altered or postponed by the coronavirus pandemic , sharing the results of our annual U . S . Spa Industry Study is going to look just a bit different this time around .

The Big Five statistics — total spa revenue , number of spa visits , number of spa locations , revenue per spa visit and total spa industry employees — reveal an industry that , at the end of 2019 , was continuing a trend of steady growth . Spa revenues rose 4.2 percent in 2019 , from $ 18.3 billion to $ 19.1 billion , and revenue per visit saw a similar jump , rising 3.1 percent , from $ 96.5 to $ 99.5 . Spa visits , meanwhile , increased from 190 million to 192 million (+ 1.1 %), and the number of spa locations increased as well , from 22,160 to 22,430 (+ 1.2 %).

By January of 2020 , the total estimated number of employees in the spa industry was up to 383,700 from 377,900 in May 2018 , representing an increase of 1.5 percent . Interestingly , the large majority of those gains came from full-time positions , which increased from 172,000 to 177,100 , a

54 PULSE ^■ NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2020