Future Spa 2008, Baden-Baden, Germany: The new concept business convention for an innovative market

The booming spa market announces a new and innovative international convention, Future Spa 2008. Hosted in the celebrated spa town of Baden-Baden in Germany, the hybrid event will fuse a cutting edge congress and exhibition alongside social networking events, when it premieres in December 2008. The Heilbäderverband (Association of Spas) and German Central Organization for Tourism (DZT) have both expressed support expressing great hopes for this new format event while the British International Spa Association (BISA) in addition to lending its support, has scheduled its AGM to take place at the event.

"The spa sector needs its own event to capitalise on its increasing importance as beauty, fitness and medical worlds adopt spa treatments rapidly," begins the BISA chairperson and co-founder of Future Spa, Marion Schneider. "Because of the fantastic growth rates in customer demand the spa market needs clear contours", says this successful spa entrepreneur, "and we need to start with the professional market. Popular trends like sustainability and the search for deeper meaning or 'selfness' make it evident that we need to sharpen these terms and concepts to clearly anchor them in our language usage.

Clearer contours and better orientation for a booming segment
What exactly should guests, customers or patients have in mind when it comes to 'Medical Wellness' and 'Medical Spa'? Mark Moloney, publisher and organiser spa and beauty sector trade fairs and congresses for 20 years and Schneider's UK partner, agrees that this is an important task for Future Spa 2008. "To best present your company in a new market you need to have a clear vision and strategy with the customer as a focus. Future Spa will help with that too," he affirms.

Communicative Concept
As a business convention, Future Spa has been conceived as a communicative forum with a compact exhibition alongside. It is not the intention of the organisers to overwhelm delegates with vast stands, but provide an environment conducive for professionals to network, interact, learn and exchange ideas. Moloney explains, "We have deliberately limited the maximum space for each exhibition stand to 27m2 to keep the trade fair aspect of the convention to an appropriate size and to keep the cost for exhibitors very attractive. We have all-inclusive packages for less than €3,500. The Future Spa programme is scheduled in such a way so that visitors can attend all of the conference sessions without the feeling that time is running short to explore the exhibition."

Ambitious expectations
It is not surprising, therefore, that even in the run up to the event the innovative concept has received wide spread acclaim from all sectors of the industry. Both the German Association of Spas and the German Central Organisation for Tourism welcome the addition of Future-Spa to the calendar while local companies are looking forward to the expected tailwind that follows the Baden-Baden event.

President of the Society for Physical Rehabilitation, Prof. Karl-Ludwig Resch MD, summarises commenting, "Here in Europe the boom in the wellness segment has emerged from the crisis of traditional health resort treatment, which was mainly medical. The new magic term 'health business' obtains increasing significance. Many suppliers here are not clear about the follow-on of long-term business models though; neither do they know about the future customer structure."

The spa sector has come a long way indeed from massage establishments and beauty farms through hotels and resorts with the spa culture now reaching medical care centres as well as clinics. Today there are already some more forward thinking health insurances schemes that fund certain spa treatments as beneficial prophylactic measures. Schneider is certain, "Future Spa will bring suppliers into contact with a completely new type of clientele, promote co-operation and procure an up-to-date overview of all possible options for potential customers that up to now has just not been attainable."

Addressing broad target groups
As the only future focused event of its kind, Future Spa will become a must-attend annual convention for all decision makers across the spa management and the hotel business. Innovative managers and entrepreneurs of newly forming clinics and hybrid conglomerates with hotels and wellness programmes will also be knocking at the door of Future Spa, not only to meet the sector's trendsetters, but also pick up on current trends at first hand. For this traditional client base the medicinal-therapeutic Future Spa programme aspects may present fewer surprises than the new business focus conference theme that places an emphasis marketing and financing, a must for the new clinic sector recently converted to market economy principles.

And who are the organisers expecting as exhibitors? "Every service provider or manufacturer who has concrete products with a focus in the fields of baths, wellness and spa, will definitely benefit from Future Spa" says Moloney. "This includes architects, shop fitters and technical services providers, from lighting specialists to sauna installers; but also the suppliers of the professional beauty and food sectors. Future Spa has been exclusively conceived by professionals for professionals and end users will not be admitted, so that during the convention no compromises will be made," concludes Moloney. "We are greatly looking forward to it."