Interview with Mr. Jean Claude Duez, Representative of the Spa & Wellness Chapter in the Cambodian Tourism Federation (CTF)

 

The Spa &Wellness Association was founded to support the Cambodian spa industry become more professional through the development of standards, training programs, and the promotion of a Cambodian Spa Identity.

We met Mr. Jean Claude Duez, Representative of the Cambodia Tourism Federation's (CTF) Spa & Wellness Chapter, to hear his opinion on how Spa professional development could help Cambodia's tourism industry recover.


1. Could you tell us about your role in the association and what are the main goals and activities of the association?

The Cambodian Spa & Wellness Association has yet to be established. We have just created a Spa & Wellness Chapter in the Cambodian Tourism Federation (CTF). So, as a representative of this chapter, I have joint the CTF Executive Committee.

It is difficult to bring the Spas to be part of the setup of the Spa & Wellness Association. The concept of a professional organization is not widely understood in Cambodia. For instant, if a spa owner or manager does not see a personal benefit for their business, they will prefer to devote their time and efforts to developing their own spa.

The idea of the Spa & Wellness Association, is to help the Cambodian Spa industry to be more professional by developing standards, training programs, and developing a Cambodian Spa Identity.

2. What are the main lessons you have learned from this difficult period?

I think the most important lesson from this is to not target only international tourism, but also to develop the local market (Cambodian and foreign residents).

At my place (Sâmata), most of our customers are local (either Cambodian or foreign resident), so it helps. 

Also, we discovered that individuals have a misunderstanding about our industry (spas and massages activities), which has been identified as a high-risk activity for COVID transmission. They don’t give a high value and differentiate between the low budget and high-end spa services. 

3. What would be your perspectives and recommendations for the recovery of your industry?

Our industry will take a long time to recover (same as the whole tourism industry). We should use this opportunity to change people's perceptions of spas and massages.

To accomplish this, we must prioritize training and the development of standards.

For that, we need to focus on training, and on developing standards. As a Technical Advisor for the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism on spa competency standard and spa curriculum development for Cambodia and ASEAN, I have developed the ASEAN competency standards for spa professionals (approved and recognized by ASEAN in 2020) and I'm currently working on the ASEAN common curriculum for spa professional.

From November 22 to December 17, I will conduct upgrading training for spa therapists in Phnom Penh. It’s a pilot project with the Ministry of Tourism founded by the ASEAN Japan Center. This upgrading training will follow the ASEAN Competency Standard and should be done on a regular basis.

The objective of this program is to give the spa therapist real-world professional spa skills and standards. It will help the spa therapist to offer proper spa treatment and then give real value to the industry. It’s the only way for the industry to recover. Customers will be more careful now about quality and professionalism. So, we will have to be able to meet their expectations.

4. What factors could contribute to reshaping the industry? Especially, how could Cambodia become a sustainable tourist destination and how can we ensure that the industry embraces a future-proof agenda?

I think training is the key factor. Developing tourism vocational training facilities should be a priority. The need for skilled staff in the tourism industry is huge. Quality service is important as customers will be more attentive to it.

Cambodia also needs to diversify its offer by not focusing only on Angkor Wat and Sihanoukville. Other destinations must be promoted, and infrastructures developed to welcome international and local tourists.

5. How EuroCham and your association, could join hands to foster the economic recovery and to contribute to the adaptation of this multifaceted industry?

I think I have already answered this question: developing training and standards. EuroCham can probably help with the setting up of the association, especially with the legal part and structural organization.

We can also work together to understand what the needs of this industry are and what the expectations of all actors in the sector are. To be efficient and attract more members, an association should be able to respond to those needs and meet those expectations.

 

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