The Caribbean Spa and Wellness Association (C-SWA) has launched its new website as the first step of its plan to make the Caribbean a leading spa destination by 2015.

The Development and Promotion of the Caribbean Health and Wellness Tourism Sector project is supported by Caribbean Export and financed by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development.

A statement from C-SWA said the Caribbean has the advantage that service and product providers can diversify their products to attract more customers by targeting specific markets.

Executive Director of Caribbean Export, Pamela Coke-Hamilton said that the region possessed the ideal environment for a thriving health and wellness sector.

C-SWA chair Steve Andrews echoed this saying there is “tremendous potential” and suggested that the global economic crisis was leading to “more and more stressed out people” looking for the tranquility found at spas.

Andrew’s also pointed out at the Caribbean had the potential to divert some of the traffic that is going to spa destinations like Thailand.

“If you are stressed out you are not going to want to site on a plane for 18 hours to reach Thailand from North America and yet their health and wellness sector had grown by 12 percent.”

The recently launched website will assist Caribbean Export and C-SWA in promoting the Region as a health and wellness destination in the country and internationally.