As the most populous city in the UAE, the city of Dubai is known as the fashion capital in the Middle East. Dubai's has always been the centre for trade, commerce and finance in the MENA region attracting international workers, business people and investors into the Emirate. The accelerated economic growth of the Dubai region in terms of wealth is reflected in the people's high-standards of living in the city, with expats from various parts of the world.
Dubai is the right destination to start a spa business as the region is well-known for tourism, recreational activities and fashionable lifestyle. Besides, the salons and spas offering to pamper clients are an integral part of life as relaxation and enjoying a healthy lifestyle are given great importance. In this perspective, continuing below, we can know more about the things you need to know before to start a profitable spa business setup in Dubai by obtaining the spa license.
Reasons to Start a Spa in Dubai
In a city where luxury is a lifestyle, people have an attitude to consuming more high-end products for living, leisure, travel and fashion. While Dubai is considered one of the expensive cities to live residents of Dubai don't mind spending on luxuries and wellness because of the lifestyle in the city.
- Posh Luxury Lifestyle
The opulent luxury lifestyle in Dubai is complemented by the high-end services such as wellness spas which offer wide-range of high-quality luxury experiences to residents. Moreover, the tourists visiting the city are excited to explore the extravagant lifestyle by shelling out on shopping, dining, and spas.
- High Standards of Living
Moreover, maintaining a high-status lifestyle in Dubai is effortless with the tax-free salaries and burgeoning trade activities anybody earning in Dubai can comfortably accommodate this lifestyle, so there is no doubt on the lack of customers for the spa.
- Spending Power
People in Dubai are fond of luxury lifestyle and will spend generously on the purchase of luxury spa and wellness services. In addition to this, the no taxes, high salaries and favourable business environment bolster people's desire to spend on high-quality experiences.
- Positive Attitude on Luxury
Aspirational behaviour to match with the other residents in terms of luxury motivates the people in Dubai to spend more on shopping, luxury cars and other services. Furthermore, people of Dubai view luxury as a necessity rather than something extraordinary this mentality creates an environment which supports and nurtures luxury products and services.
- Massive Expat Population
Dubai is home to nearly nine million people with large per cent of the population from India and other parts of the world. Most of the residents working in Dubai earn sufficiently and spend their weekends in malls, shopping centres, pubs and spa retreats to relax opening up numerous possibilities for spa, wellness and massage centre businesses in the region.
How to Set Up a Spa Business?
The spa and wellness industry in Dubai is huge and is consistently grow at the rate of twelve per cent per year; this is due to the constant increase in the demand for wellness services including salon, massage, therapy and beauty services. If you're planning to invest in Dubai by setting up a spa business, you can offer high-quality sauna, massage, beauty and other wellness services you need to make sure that you have acquired the spa license.
Know about the Regulations in Dubai’s Spa and Wellness industry
Before starting a spa business, you need to consider certain factors that could make the process of setting up a business more accessible and substantially affects the way your business gains in the years to come. Furthermore, all the business sectors are regulated in the Emirate of Dubai in the case of spa and wellness industry, one needs to obtain spa license and permits health & safety departments to authorize them to operate the business legally. The spa regulations are designed to maintain the standards, promote proper enterprises and streamline the industry by eliminating undercover dodgy spa centres that offer illegal services.
What is a Spa License in Dubai?
A spa license is essential for starting a wellness centre as the license from the Department of Economic Development Dubai (DED) authorizes your business to undertake wellness services. Acquiring a spa license requires you to comply with the health and safety regulations, maintain industry standards to obtain a spa license in Dubai. Moreover, the spa license is subject to expiry, and you must renew it with the respective authorities while you continue to uphold the same standards and comply with the regulations set by the governmental agencies
Things to Consider Before Setting up a Spa Business in Dubai
- Type of Spa
Decide on the kind of spa service you are planning to offer, as a spa and wellness centre you have the opportunity to provide speciality services such as hair spa, nail spa or you can offer multiple services to clients your customers such as
- Facial and body treatments
- Massage services
- Manicures and Pedicure
- Signature services such as body scrub, massage and mini-facial
- Additional salon services like haircuts, colouring, styling and makeup
- Spa Business Model
Prepare a comprehensive business model for your spa business to get a clear idea of how to proceed with the spa business venture in Dubai. Decide on the products and services you are planning to offer, analyze the costs involved in the day-to-day operations, understand the market demand for the type of services and determine the type of specialists that you might need to hire for running your business.
Besides, you need to figure out whether you want to build a stand-alone brand or tie up with existing business partners or establish a franchise model based spa and wellness centre. Please choose carefully as each business model has its advantages and limitations.
- License and Permits
Acquire the necessary business licenses before starting the operations. In the case of a spa and wellness centre, you need to obtain a spa license along with basic business license such as the commercial license. Furthermore, as a business owner, you need to get other permits and approvals from governmental agencies such as Dubai Health and Safety and similar agencies which are responsible for maintaining the standards of the industry.
- Location of the Spa
The location of the spa plays a significant role in the growth and success of business operations. A strategically located spa and wellness centre can attract the right target customers with ease. On the contrary, popular locations are expensive to rent and challenging to maintain, mainly due to the expenses they occur. Hence it is prudent to select a location after careful analysis of the trade-offs that your spa business can make it terms of profit and expenses.
- Business Capital
Sourcing and funding the business capital is one of the most critical tasks for a business owner. Even though if you have the funds for starting the spa business; in Dubai, you need to understand that getting licenses, leasing or renting a space, registering your spa business, setting up interiors, buying necessary equipment costs more than you think in Dubai. So it would be best if you managed your finances better to better succeed in your business. If you have partners or investors who finance your business, you might need to create a Memorandum of Association (MOA) for your spa company along with them for satisfying the Dubai statutory requirements.
Finally, as a business owner, you need to understand the importance of such licensing and permits, in this case, the spa license and other requirements as they ensure the smooth operation of your business. As always be aware of the laws and regulations in UAE as the government agencies in Dubai are strict in ensuring that the standards are met and enforce rules according to law. Hence it is wise to contact us as our team of professionals who are expert in registering business and business licensing in UAE can assist you in obtaining the necessary spa license effortlessly while you can focus on your business.
