Andrea Quadrio Curzio - QC Terme
Among the most important and innovative realities in the wellness, spa and hotel hospitality sector. Wellness centers and spas, charming hotels in Bormio, Pré Saint Didier, Milan, Turin, Mont Blanc, Rome, San Pellegrino, Dolomites and Chamonix.
It's been 6 months since the previous interview. How has the vision of the future of the sector changed since then?
Unfortunately, the second wave and the health emergency linked to the pandemic led to a second lockdown that I think has crushed the hopes of a restart, especially in Italy, of many operators in the sector. Psychologically, the laceration in people seems even more profound to me. I see and hear of widespread financial and economic difficulties: for those who have had to suspend their activities, for those who preferred to stop for various reasons or for those who continued to operate at reduced rates. This crisis has affected almost everyone, albeit with different intensity. The wellness and spa sector is one of the most affected and I fear that many will pay the consequences for a long time. The positive thing is that the demand for well-being has remained, indeed it has perhaps grown. Summer 2020 is proof of this, with demand immediately returning to the levels of 2019.
Will this pandemic change the concept of well-being and the places dedicated to it in everyday life and on vacation?
The real challenge will be to be relevant with useful and quality services for new guests tried by the pandemic and all that it has entailed. The watchwords for us will be: quality, attention to detail, emotional recovery, order, organization. As in all crises it will be a time of change, of birth or rebirth.
The Wellness & SPA "decision makers", like you, what will they have to invest in immediately to harness and manage the changes generated by COVID-19?
Not an easy answer. Personally and as a QC Terme Group, we do not plan to change a great deal as a result of Covid. We believe that people will need even more to reward themselves, escape, entertain, feel good and have fun, in an original and new way.
Finally, same question as 6 months ago: optimistic or pessimistic and why?
I am optimistic in the medium term, because I am convinced that the sector will restart, but I am pessimistic in the short term. I think there are still a few months before things get back to their right pace in Italy. This will happen in my opinion from late spring and for many activities and many professionals in the sector it is a very long time.
