A STUDY OF POTENTIALS OF SPA BUSINESSES IN THAILAND

Abstract

This research was a mix-method research of both quantitative and qualitative methods. The purposes of this research were (1) to study potentials of Thai spa businesses and (2) to examine government policies and supportive implementation in order to enhance the capacities of Thai spa businesses.  Population were spa managers and spa therapists of 271 spa businesses in four major tourist destinations. Samples were calculated by Yamane formular and consisted of 478 spa managers and spa therapists from 97 spa businesses. Questionnaire was used to collect data.  Forty-nine in-depth interviews were conducted from the perspectives of key informants from both public and private sectors in Thailand.  For quantitative data analysis, statistical tools for descriptive statistical analysis were employed and content analysis was used to analyze qualitative data.      

Research findings showed that (1) the majority of respondents rated all seven factors of expected potentials of Thai spa operators at the highest level while they rated all seven factors of perceived potentials at a high level.  (2) Although the Ministry of Health and the Spa Associations have supported some potentials of spa businesses by setting up certified standards for spa operators, many spa businesses still did not follow all spa standards and procedures.