Abstract
As the world becomes more focused on wellbeing and health issues, the spa has become a mature notion for people. Australia, with a well-entrenched heritage as a spa and health tourism destination, complements the benefits of a spa and the wellness experience. In reverse, the development of ideal health tourism may strengthen the image of Australia as a stylish, sophisticated and romantic tourism destination. The purpose of this study is to outline the current position of the Australian spa hotel industry by comparison with the situation in other countries in terms of the development background and environment, differentiation strategies, current challenges and future trends. Considering the differentiation in terms of locations, marketing segments and development environments compared with the professions overseas, the Australian spa hoteliers have begun to realize the significance of shifting the focus to leisure customers. Spa tourism is not only a complementary promotion for employees used by corporate managers, for family customers it is also a fashionable way to escape from their daily routines. The future trend is inclined to emphasize more on the marketing resources for domestic customers, which requires the coordination of several regional tourism bodies to build a persuasive and compelling wellness tourism image. It is believed that the current governance and planning of the spa tourism industry is far from satisfactory and that a new industrial body is required to be responsible for providing the best practice business models and introducing a standardized accreditation system. The association must establish a recognized self-regulating system, standardize self-management actions, promote equal competition between the hotels, raise integrated staff training levels and defend the integrated benefits. In conclusion, the key message to improve the Australian spa hotel industry is to strengthen the cooperation through entirety planning and standardization.