Question No.124 of Notice Paper No. 233 of 2010 (Written Answer)

Sitting Date: 22 November 2010

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mdm Er Lee Bee Wah, Member for Ang Mo Kio GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry in light of the sudden spa closures by spa operators (a) what is the Ministry doing to protect the image of Singapore as a regional spa center; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider disallowing spa operators from signing up treatment packages that are more than six months to protect the interest of the customers.

Answer

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) does not actively promote Singapore as a regional spa center. Spa experiences are profiled only as one of the many visitor experiences that tourists can enjoy in Singapore, alongside shopping, dining, events and entertainment offerings. STB has been careful to profile only spas that have a sound business model and proven track record.

Imposing prescriptive regulations can restrict business flexibility, reduce consumer choice, and potentially lead to higher costs for consumers. A better approach to protect consumers is to help raise their vigilance through consumer education and industry accreditation of spas.

CASE has, with MTI’s support, launched the CaseTrust for Spa and Wellness Accreditation Scheme in April this year to raise consumers' awareness of spa standards and to put in place good business practices. These include giving customers a cooling-off period of at least five working days to seek full refund of payments made for packages, and not allowing sales pitch to customers during treatment. These measures will help obviate cases where consumers are pressured into buying packages. CASE is also currently looking into requiring financial soundness to be taken into account in the accreditation scheme. We will monitor the situation and refine our approach further if necessary.