Bridging the gap

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The Cube at Dubai Sports City will offer the first sports medical spa in the GCC.

Alternatively, clients can choose multiple non-invasive, painless cellulite-busting procedures in the Al Shehana spa.

"We always give treatment options and alternatives for our clients," says Qadir.

Growing the trend

The emergence of medical spas in the region presents two key issues for the industry: will they compete with hotel and day spas, and how will they be staffed?

SpaFinder president Susie Ellis, who has witnessed the medical spa trend growing in the US, doesn't envisage a threat to the existing Middle East spa industry, a sentiment echoed by Russell and Qadir.

"I don't think that medical spas pose a real threat to luxury spas because they are very different. People go to medical spas generally for medical procedures and they go to luxury spas to relax, learn from a healthy lifestyle and de-stress," says Ellis.

"Medical spas are well suited to the Middle East market because there is a strong focus on beauty and health here. In the past, many people from the Middle East would travel to Europe or the US for medical services, whether aesthetic or preventive. Now that there are some high quality facilities available in the Middle East, this will keep some of the business here," she adds.

Staffing new medical spas would be a challenge, however. "We acknowledge the fact that there is a shortage of talents in this field in this market," admits Russell.

"The extra challenge for recruiting for a medical spa includes the fact that the people who provide the services need a higher level of skill. That means more training, as well as higher salaries. There is a skilled labour shortage in the spa arena and in the nursing profession, so there will most likely be recruitment challenges," says Ellis.

Qadir adds that therapists at Al Shehana spa are "certified qualified nurses with cosmetic therapy training", who prescribe treatments with a physician's referral.

She warns that of the need for rigid checks on medical spas because of the risk of "unprofessional centres that misuse the privilege and operate medical procedures illegally in unlicensed spas and salons".

Dr Gerald Huber, regional director for the UAE/GCC for Schletterer Wellness & Spa Design, which has designed the spa at The Cube planned for Dubai Sports City, warns also of the "loose and unprotected" use of the term medical spa.

"You have to stress that the concept of real medical spas is very new, and therefore a very limited number of such facilities exist worldwide. Real medical spa - not beauty surgeries - means a holistic approach to health by a comprehensive combination of medical, nutrition, lifestyle and mental methods," asserts Huber.

Schletterer has taken a unique approach to this trend, with the concept of a sports medical spa focused on "sportive training, prevention and rehabilitation by means of profound status evaluation including blood testing, personal training, physiotherapy, infusions and nutrition guidance".

"A novelty will also be the implementation of a low oxygen atmosphere to simulate high altitude training. This very positively affects not only physical performance but also metabolism, therefore enabling healing success in relation to diseases such as diabetes," says Huber.

The final question now is whether the global economic crisis will cause a temporary halt in the growth of such exciting new trends, as spas take the safe option and stick with what they know best. SpaFinder's Ellis doesn't think this will be an issue.

"I don't see a slow down in new trends because there are so many factors that go into the making of a trend, not just the economy. What drives the industry more than economics is consumer needs and medical advancements.

For example, the new product Reloxin, which reduces wrinkles immediately, will be a competitor to Botox. It's coming out soon and will no doubt galvanise another large group of consumers to give medical spas a try," says Ellis.

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