THE spa and wellness industry in Davao City is soaring as investors are getting interested to venture into it as manifested by the number of spas operating here, a wellness expert said.
Jeilyn Savellano, founding president of Davao Wellness Association (DavWell) and owner of Zhi Ya Spa, said during Monday's Kapehan sa Dabaw at The Annex of SM City Davao that there are around 120 spas and wellness-related businesses that are registered in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) but only 25 of these are members of their organization.
"For all we know, the wellness industry is a broad industry which includes lifestyle, exercise, and food, diet [and] even anything as long as [it is] into wellness. That’s the scope of the wellness industry," she said.
The growing interest in the massage industry was attributed to the rapid development of the city and increasing demand of the public who are searching for quality services and a platform where they can physically and mentally relax.
Their organization, Savellano said, imposed a stricter standard that requires its members to be government-policy compliant and by which, they adhere to the rules and regulations being implemented by the government agencies like employing only licensed massage therapists.
Based on the Department of Health (DOH) Administrative order 2010-34, they created the Committee of Examiners for Massage Therapy (CEMT) which is geared "to regulate the practice of massage therapy, hence, ensure that only qualified individuals enter the regulated profession and that the care and services which the massage therapists provide are within the standards of practice".
"After [2017], no one will be opening [a spa] without a licensed therapist. The license will come from the DOH," she said.
She clarified that certification obtained from Tesda attests the skills that the therapist possessed while a license to massage will still be issued by the DOH.
Based on their examination in December 2016, there are 15,000 licensed therapists nationwide while 117 are in Davao.
On May 13, they will join the Visit Davao Fun Sale in the first-ever Travel and Leisure Expo Davao at SMX Convention Center, SM Lanang Premier, Davao City where they will hold a free wellness business lecture, customer service improvement and next trend of wellness.
This aims to promote the massage industry through showcasing their different state-of-the-art services and discussion for aspiring entrepreneurs on how to start a spa business.