Massage Services To Face Split

[george]

Massage services to face split

New law to clearly define categories

BANGKOK: The Public Health Ministry is to issue an announcement distinguishing spa and traditional massage facilities as separate from other ``entertainment'' massage parlours that offer sexual services.

The effort is being made to promote the country's health tourism and to clearly separate massage services into three categories _ medical, health and entertainment.

Dr Narongsakdi Aungkasuvapala, director-general of the Health Services Support Department, said the medical and health-related services would be placed under the supervision of the Health Ministry, while massages related to entertainment would be placed under the entertainment establishment law supervised by the Interior Ministry.

Currently, there is no clear distinction between these businesses and since only a limited number of licences are issued for operating entertainment businesses, many of them try to disguise the nature of their establishment from the authorities by partly providing traditional massage or spa services.

Massage entertainment would be closely monitored by the police and would have to pay higher taxes.

The public health announcement, expected in a few months, would require operators of medical, health and beauty-related massage and spas to follow the standards set out under the Practice of the Art of Healing Act issued in 1999, which also governs private hospitals and clinics.

The announcement would categorise medical spa as a business providing short and long-stay programmes like Chiva Som in Hua Hin, health spa as a business that provide services like reflexology, and beauty spa as providing services like facial massage.

Dr Narongsakdi said it would be difficult for entertainment establishments to disguise themselves as health service providers after the announcement is enforced, because operating hours would be different for the different types of businesses, and sales of alcoholic beverages and entertainment such as karaoke would be strictly prohibited in health-related businesses.

A survey of the spa industry showed that in 2002, as many as 2.6 million foreigners visited some 230 spa businesses in the country, generating an income of US$85 million (about 3,400 million baht).

The survey showed that spa operations increased 64% within the last three years and 80% of the customers were foreigners.

The survey also showed that more than half of the earnings in the spa industry came from massage services.

--Bangkok Post 2004-01-05

[mrentoul]

Massage services to face split

Whoever wrote that headline was being a little naughty, I think!

[TizMe]

I think that someone had rubbed them the wrong way.