NEW YORK--December 12, 2011-From “amusement park” spas to cold treatments like “snow showers” to the arrival of beauty coaches, SpaFinder today released its annual Spa Trend Report™ forecasting the global trends and ideas that will reshape spa and wellness in 2012.

Now in its ninth year, the influential annual report is based on analyses from SpaFinder Research and its team of experts who visit hundreds of spa and wellness businesses around the world every year, as well as interviews with leading industry analysts and data and feedback collected from SpaFinder’s partnership with over 15,000 spas, yoga, Pilates and fitness studios, wellness practitioners and salons worldwide.

The Spa Trend Report™ is developed under the direction of SpaFinder President Susie Ellis, a contributing editor to NewBeauty magazine, a founding board member of The Global Spa & Wellness Summit and author of the widely read industry blog, Susie’s Spa Blog. Ellis is credited with forecasting numerous industry “mega-trends” that have taken hold in spas around the world.

“Overall, we see two distinct themes emerging. One is the industry innovating with diverse, new sensory experiences and treatments — from cold and ‘vibration’ therapies to new services for healthy feet. The second is how spas are re-imagining and extending their connection to customers, moving beyond the sporadic visit, to programs aimed at developing long-term relationships such as coaching and online wellness gaming,” Ellis said.

To view short descriptions of each trend with photos, visit www.spafinder.com/2012trends.htm. To view SpaFinder’s full 2012 Spa Trend Report™ click here.

SpaFinder’s Top 10 Global Spa Trends for 2012 are:

1. Healthy Feet Treatments
2. Cold and Ice Are Hot
3. Wellness and Beauty Coaching
4. Online Wellness Gaming
5. Pairing Fine Dining and Spa-ing
6. Vibration, Sound, Music, Light and Color Therapies
7. The Glam Factor
8. Spa Evidence: Showing the Science Behind Spa
9. Spas Become a Family Affair
10. Spas Go for the "Wow"

SpaFinder also highlighted one emerging trend that was not included in the report, as it is primarily a U.S. phenomenon — Employee Wellness Programs & Spas. SpaFinder Research will release a special report summarizing the significance and state of workplace wellness in the printed edition of the 2012 Spa Trend Report™ available in January 2012.

“After four tough economic years that made experimentation challenging, we are seeing the industry once again pushing the envelope with exciting ideas, ever more valuable services, more fun and quite serious wellness innovation,” Ellis added.

About SpaFinder

The world’s largest spa media, marketing and gifting company, SpaFinder, Inc., connects millions of wellness-focused consumers with thousands of spas, yoga, Pilates and fitness studios and wellness practitioners worldwide. SpaFinder’s media properties include the award-winning http://www.spafinder.com, the Club Spa e-newsletter and blog and the annual NewBeauty SpaFinder Guide to Global Spa, Wellness & Beauty. SpaFinder and its spa-beauty gift division, SpaWish, offer gift certificates and cards that are redeemable at a combined network of over 9,000 spas, yoga, Pilates and fitness studios, wellness practitioners and salons worldwide, and are available at nearly 100,000 unique retail outlets in 79 countries. SpaFinder Europe and SpaFinder Japan offer regional spa marketing and gifting programs, including localized websites. Currently celebrating its 25th Anniversary, SpaFinder is a privately held company headquartered in Manhattan.