The Caribbean has the capacity to become the leading spa and wellness destination in the world. This assessment has come from Steve Andrews, owner of Soothing Touch Da Spa, who told Barbados Business Authority that the region had unique characteristics that could attract people from all over the world.

However, he said, Barbados loses a substantial amount of money every year because locals had not tapped into the industry.

Andrews noted that spa-goers traveled around the world looking for unique experiences and although the Caribbean had a lot to offer, many spas had not incorporated the region’s distinguishing features into their services.

“Most of the spas we have in the region haven’t really tapped into the wonders of the region. We need to start looking at how we can incorporate our culture, our people, our healing practices into what we’re doing to make the sector interesting,” he said.

Andrews said this was all part of sustainable development. “When you speak about sustainable development, you are saying that you are building businesses from within the region with Caribbean people.”

This would ensure that money stayed within the Caribbean, he noted, and would create foreign exchange while maintaining health and wellness. He said the wellness industry in the United States generated around $50 billion annually.