In Thailand, “health spa” means an enterprise that cares for and promotes people’s health through its primary services, consisting of massage for health and hydrotherapy services, and may or may not offer additional services such as sauna treatments, exercise, nutritional therapy and diet control, yoga, meditation, use of herbs or other products for health and other alternative medicine treatment.
Thai companies that are interested in providing Thai spa services have to consider certain standards set by the Ministry of Public Health per Ministerial Announcement issued on 21 April 2004.
Today, we talk about the standards for health spa service and health spa safety.
I. Health Spa Service Standards
1) The owner of the enterprise must have employees who meet the standards as specified in the Ministerial Announcement and may not permit anyone who does not meet those standards to provide services at the enterprise except in the case of trainees, in which case the number of trainees may not be more than half of total number of service providers.
2) The owner must provide services in accordance with the principles and standards for each type of service. The main types of service must be health massage and hydrotherapy treatment such as steam rooms, jacuzzi, hot tubs, and cool water tubs. In addition the enterprise must provide at least three other types of supplementary services such as mud baths, mud masques, beauty treatments, exercise classes, yoga, meditation or health food.
3) The enterprise services must have the following characteristics:
a) The enterprise must open at 8 AM and close at no later than 10 PM
b) The owner must display the service provider registration certificate in the form designated by the Ministry of Public Health.
c) The owner must have a service provider registration certificate in the form designated by the Ministry of Public Health, which must be kept in good condition for inspection for at least five years after it was issued.
d) The enterprise may not serve alcoholic beverages or any other kind of intoxicant to its employees or customers and must be a no-smoking zone.
e) The services may not be in violation of the modern medicine practice law, the medical professions law regarding other professions, the medical facilities law or the service enterprise law.
f) Advertisement or public relations materials or activities may not mislead the public to mistakenly believe that the enterprise offers unauthorized medical treatments and may not be false advertisement or make exaggerated claims.
g) The owner must post the list of services and service fees in an open, easily visible location or a place that is easy to inspect.
h) The owner may not provide or consent to have other kinds of services that might be classified under or violate the service enterprise law or services for which special permission is required such as gambling, musical or singing performance, karaoke, snooker, dancing or other kinds of entertainment.
i) The owner must require the service provider employees to wear uniforms that are polite, well covered, clean and orderly and appropriate for the work and each service employee must wear a nametag on the left breast of the uniform.
II. Health Spa Safety Standards
1) The owner must keep a first aid kit at the health spa that is always ready for use.
2) The owner must post sign or messages in any area that poses a danger risk to warn the customers.
Interested in doing spa business in Thailand, please consider the qualifications and requirements before you set up the company. Contact ThaiLawyers for company registration, visa & work permit and obtaining related business certificates for your Thai spa business.