The Spa industry is a new and growing phenomenon showing a clear increase during
the last decades. The customers are starting to realize how important the health and
wellness in today’s society. People of all ages are starting to have higher demands
that empower them to take part in new lifestyles such as spa visits. This allows the
spa establishments to develop new products and services to fulfil their desires.
In order to describe the new trends and the other linking aspects of this phenomenon
we have investigated the Gothenburg market and its regions; both urban and rural.
Many of the spa establishments take part in the spa branding phenomenon to gain
customer loyalty and to achieve a higher recognition. This has created confusion for
the current spa customers where they might have a lack of knowledge about the
actual spa concept. The result of our investigation shows that people are still not
aware of the current spa concept. Therefore, the spa establishments see the necessity
in putting more effort in educating their target market. The location is also
considered an important issue when it comes to spa planning, while the market is
starting to become saturated in the urban area. Our findings allow us to give
suggestions for the spa establishments as to how to stay unique and differentiate
themselves from their competitors
