After booking levels have been down over the last 9 months, new reports are suggesting this trend may be changing.

Their high costs and exclusivity tend to mean that many people class them as luxury treats. Despite this, the popularity of spa days soured over the last 10 years, and more spas are now open all round the world than ever before. More free time and increased pressure on both males and females to look good all the time are both reasons that have been given for this.

This last year has not been a good one in the spa world however. The current economic climate has seen a dramatic drop in the number of people coming in for spa treatments and also purchasing products from the spas. Many have had to make cutbacks on staffing and also reduce the ranges of treatments that they offer, especially skin care treatment. A spa in Spain suffered pretty badly, with the owner saying “our bookings have been the worst for 5 years, there is no one willing to spend any money at the moment.” There have been reports of spa closures all around the world and many have also been shut down to ride out the recession.

Good news however has come from the spa booking agent in the UK, Spa Break. They have reported increases in all aspects of business this last month, from more people actually booking the treatments to more product sales and voucher sales.  They have attributed this to people realising that the recession did not hit them as hard as they first thought it would. They would rather spend the extra money on something for themselves and something that will help combat any stress that they might be experiencing.One spa in Norwich has already opened its doors again and one in Bath also.A close eye will be kept on future figures by those in the industry, hoping that the recovery will continue