Victoria's Spa and Wellness Tourism Action Plan 2005-2010
Research
To assist the development of strategies to enhance the profile of spa tourism in Victoria, the following provides a review of research findings currently available.
Research on spa and wellness tourism
As data on international spa visitation within Australia is limited, the focus of this section will be on domestic spa tourism within Australia and Victoria. For details on the information sources used please refer to the Appendix A.
Spa Visitationin Australia and Victoria
In the year ending December 2004, only 0.2 per cent (167,000) of all domestic visitors within Australia and 1.2 per cent (59,500) of all international visitors to Australia visited a health spa (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Domestic & international spa visitation to Australia
Sources: International Visitor Survey and National Visitors Survey, Tourism Research Australia, year ending December 2004
Spa visitation in Australia is growing at a rapid rate and, with an annual average growth rate of 13.8 per cent per annum over the period 2001-2004, has outperformed the annual average growth rate of 1.6 per cent in total domestic visitation (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Growth in domestic spa visitation, 2001-2004
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, Roy Morgan Research, years ending December 2001-2004
Victoria's market share of domestic spa visitors (29 per cent) is greater than its market share of total domestic visitors (24 per cent). Of all states and territories, Queensland is the only other state that has a greater proportion of domestic spa visitors than overall domestic visitors (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Market share of domestic spa visitors by state
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, Roy Morgan Research, years ending December 2001-2004
Melbourne is the core market for spa tourism in Victoria, representing 70 per cent of all domestic spa tourists to the state. While only 16 per cent of spa visitors come from interstate, almost a third (30 per cent) of all domestic visitors to Victoria are interstate visitors. This suggests potential to further develop the interstate market (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Origin of domestic spa visitors to Victoria
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, Roy Morgan Research, years ending December 2001-2004
Three of the top 15 destinations for domestic spa visitation in Australia are in Victoria : Spa Country, Daylesford, Hepburn Springs (8 per cent), Melbourne (4 per cent) and the Great Ocean Road, Torquay, Lorne and Port Fairy regions (4 per cent). Victoria's main competitors for domestic spa visitation are coastal resort areas such as the Gold and Sunshine coasts (12 per cent and 5 per cent respectively), Sydney (4 per cent) and northern New South Wales regions (4 per cent) (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Top 15 destinations for domestic spa visitation in Australia
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, Roy Morgan Research, years ending December 2001-2004
The Daylesford region is clearly Victoria's leading spa tourism area, receiving 29 per cent of all spa visitors compared to only 2 per cent of all domestic visitors to the state. The Great Ocean Road and Melbourne regions also received a significant share of spa visitors to Victoria (Figure 6).
Figure 6. Top 10 destinations for domestic spa visitation in Victoria
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, Roy Morgan Research, years ending December 2001-2004
A ‘spa visitor’ is defined as a person who visited a health resort or went on a spa holiday on their last trip of one night or more within Australia.
Market profile of domestic spa visitors
Gender
Domestic spa visitors within Australia are predominantly female, comprising 60 per cent of visitors. The Spa Industry Survey conducted by Intelligent Spas Pte Ltd found an even greater discrepancy between gender group numbers with 78 per cent of visitation by females (Figure 7).
Figure 7. Gender profile of domestic spa tourists
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, years ending December 2001-2004, Roy Morgan Research; Spa Industry Survey, 2003, Intelligent Spas Pte Ltd
Age
Spa tourism appeals to a younger market. Compared to age profiles of the total population and total domestic visitors, domestic spa tourists are more likely to be aged 34 years and under (53 per cent). The 35-49 years age group represents 31 per cent of domestic spa tourists and only 16 per cent are aged 50 or over (Figure 8).
Figure 8. Age profile of domestic spa tourists
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, years ending December 2001-2004, Roy Morgan Research
Roy Morgan Values Segments
The Values Segments that are over-represented for domestic spa tourists are Socially Aware (19 per cent), Look at Me (13 per cent) and Young Optimism (13 per cent). These segments are characterised by a strong desire to travel and are also well represented in both the total population and total domestic tourist profiles. The Traditional Family Life segment, while highly represented in these profiles, only represents 9 per cent of all domestic spa tourists (Figure 9). For more details on Roy Morgan Values Segments please refer to the Appendix.
Figure 9. Domestic spa visitation by Roy Morgan Values Segments
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, years ending December 2001-2004, Roy Morgan Research
Income and expenditure
Domestic spa tourists have an average household income of $69,000. In comparison, the average household income for all domestic tourists is $64,000, while the total Australian population has an annual average household income of $61,000 (Figure 10).
Figure 10. Average household income of domestic spa visitors
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, years ending December 2001-2004, Roy Morgan Research
Domestic spa tourists enjoy spending money: 57 per cent are classified as big spenders, 29 per cent as medium spenders and only 15 per cent are light spenders. In comparison, 24 per cent of overall domestic tourists are light spenders, 35 per cent are medium and 41 per cent are big spenders (Figure 11).
Figure 11. Domestic spa visitors by discretionary expenditure
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, years ending December 2001-2004, Roy Morgan Research
On average, domestic spa visitors spent $143 per person per night on their last trip, $35 more than total domestic visitors who spent an average of $108 per person per night (Figure 12).
Figure 12. Average $ spent per person per night
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, years ending December 2001-2004, Roy Morgan Research
Accommodation
Forty one per cent of domestic spa tourists to Victoria stayed at a hotel or motel on their last trip, compared to 54 per cent of total domestic spa tourists and 28 per cent of overall domestic tourists. However, a higher proportion of spa tourists to Victoria stayed at a bed and breakfast or host farm (22 per cent compared to 10 per cent of overall domestic spa tourists and only 3 per cent of overall tourists). The largest proportion of total domestic tourists stayed with friends or relatives, highlighting the potential of word-of-mouth to generate greater awareness and conversion (Figure 13).
Figure 13. Accommodation Used by Domestic Spa Visitors
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, years ending December 2001-2004, Roy Morgan Research
Transport
The majority of people who visited a health resort or went on a spa holiday in Victoria on their last trip travelled by car, caravan or campervan (87 per cent). This is not surprising considering 70 per cent of all spa tourists in Victoria are from Melbourne (Figure 14).
Figure 14. Transport used by domestic spa visitors
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, years ending December 2001-2004, Roy Morgan Research
Travel party
The majority of domestic spa tourists to Victoria travelled with a partner and/or as part of a couple (42 per cent). This is consistent with overall domestic spa tourists (37 per cent) and total domestic tourists (32 per cent). Interestingly, 13 per cent of spa visitors to Victoria travelled with a friend or a small group of friends compared to 10 per cent of total spa tourists and only 7 per cent of overall tourists (Figure 15). This indicates a potential to target small group and special occasion holidays (eg. bridal party weekends).
Figure 15. Travel party of domestic spa visitors
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, years ending December 2001-2004, Roy Morgan Research
Key product segments
The key product segments for domestic spa tourists to Victoria are outlined in Figure 16. The segments are illustrated as both a percentage of all spa visitors to Victoria (horizontal axis), and in terms of these visitors’ propensity to participate in certain activities when compared to all domestic visitors to Victoria (vertical axis).
Figure 16. Domestic spa visitors to Victoria by product segment
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, years ending December 2001-2004, Roy Morgan Research
Rest and relaxation, sightseeing and outdoor activities are amongst the largest segments for spa visitors to Victoria in terms of volume of visitors. Domestic spa visitors to Victoria showed a particularly high propensity for the'luxurious/comfortable holiday' segment. Sporting activities such as horse riding, tennis and bike riding as well as art galleries and dining out also featured highly when compared to overall visitors, demonstrating potential for cross-marketing between these segments and the spa and wellness segment.
Potential spa tourists
There is considerable potential for domestic spa tourism to tap into the pampering and wellness market. In Figure 17, potential spa tourists are defined as people who have paid for personal services to improve their wellbeing and include health services (eg. massages, naturopathy), grooming services (eg. facials, manicures) and personal fitness training.
Figure 17. Potential spa tourists
Source: Holiday Tracking Survey, years ending December 2001-2004, Roy Morgan Research
Over the three years ending December 2004,96,000 domestic tourists in Australia visited a health spa or went on a spa holiday on their last trip of one night or more. In comparison, 2.4 million Australians over the age of 14 paid for health and wellbeing services - this suggests a huge market for potential spa tourists.
International Visitors and Global Trends
Research data on international spa visitors is too limited to provide accurate data on the market. Intelligent Spas have provided data on the size of international spa visitors to Australia.
Figure 18. International Spa Visitors to Australia
Source: Intelligent Spas Pte Ltd 2003.
Other available international research from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) reveals that 33 per cent of leisure travellers in the US cite access to a spa as an important consideration when making travel plans. There is a belief that spa and wellness experiences are of such benefit that they should be incorporated into daily life.
Globally the spa and wellness industry is experiencing rapid growth, with the development of new spa resorts and hotels and the refurbishment and upgrade of existing spa facilities. In some instances, entire spa towns have been upgraded as a direct result of the growing demand for spa and wellness experiences.
Data on the international spa tourist market is scarce, but important information on spa and wellness tourism trends is available and worth considering. Some of the major global trends identified by spa travel and marketing company, Spa Finder are:
- Increased emphasis on luxury - The luxury end of the market is forecast to become even more luxurious with more exclusive, private, meaningful, tasteful experiences and more extravagant, indulgent experiences.
- Spas and wellness retreats will help consumers to achieve their health goals - consumers will use resort spas and wellness retreats to achieve goals such as quitting smoking, recovery from grief, achieving mindfulness, spiritual awareness and detoxification.
- Spas as education centres - Spas will increase the quality and number of spa education programmes and workshops and use experts to lead focussed seminars and retreats.
- More online bookings -Travel portals will enable online travellers to book spa vacations and treatments as part of their travel packages. Online spa bookings will further drive spa expansion.
- Resort spas will diversify products -More use of indigenous experiences and products eg. Thai massage, Ayurveda, acupuncture and hot stone massage.
- Boom in spa cuisine -New demand for spa cooking classes and spa chefs. More demand for customisation and variety of spa cuisines.