US spa industry sees 5% growth in the past year, Ispa study finds

The US spa industry has grown 5% in the past year according to the International Spa Association’s (Ispa’s) annual report.

The report, compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on behalf of Ispa, found that the US spa industry grew from $15.5 billion (£12bn) in May 2015 to $16.3bn ($12.5bn) May 2016, an increase of 5%. 

Ispa said the growth was driven by a rise in the number of spa visits, up 2.1% in the last year: from 176 million in 2015 to 179m in 2016.

Revenue per visit also grew in the same period, from $88 (£68) per visit last year to $91 (£70) per visit this year – a rise of 2.9%. There was also a small increase in the number of spa locations across the US: from 20,660 in in 2015 to 21,020 in 2016.

Ispa president Lynne McNees said: “Our annual spa industry study has shown revenue growth each of the past five years, providing strong indicators of the continued future success of the spa industry.”

The overall number of staff employed within the US spa industry saw a very slight decrease, down 0.2% – from 360,000 last year to 359,300 this year. This was caused by a slight drop in contract and part-time staff. There was, however, an increase in full-time staff.

Image: The spa pool at the MAndarin Oriental Washington, DC