TEN YEARS on, the spa business on Phuket still has the magic touch that only comes with a top-notch massage, and perhaps a bit of aromatherapy.

As is evident from all the one-time hotels that are now branded ''resort & spa,'' the world of oil on flesh and deep, contented sighs has gone mainstream.

If you happen to own a hotel that doesn't have a spa . . . perhaps it's time you thought again. How is your occupancy rate?

So . . . happy tenth birthday to the Phuket spa industry.

Eighty resorts on the island now have spas. And, in case you are still in one of those rather old-fashioned hotels, there are also 28 day spas without resorts attached.

Chernporn Kanjanasaya, head of the Phuket Spa Association, says that while the best is yet to come, the boom in spas is probably slowing a little now.

''Quality is the focus,'' she says. ''Previously, the industry was in a period of rapid growth on the island.

''Now the most committed operators are paying greater attention to quality.''

Phuket has taken to the spa industry with glee. There are now a total of about 1000 massage beds, and that's not including the hundreds along Phuket's beaches.

Once, a massage was considered sinfully sensual. Today, a holiday in Thailand without one, even for big, hunky, sports-loving men, is considered incomplete.

That's means the creation of a lot of jobs that didn't exist 10 years ago, too.

Thai massage also now has a worldwide audience and businesses are exporting their brands and expertise, to Europe and the Middle East especially.

Khun Chernporn has three spas of her own, the Raintree Spa in Phuket City, the Karona Resort and Spa at Karon beach and the Kamala Royal Thai Spa, which opened in November.

Her advice to spa owners and to anyone thinking of opening one is to understand the subtleties of the industry. Your target market has to be clear, she says.

Her own approach is to aim at a local audience as well as the tourist market. ''You need to know the direction of your spa,'' she says.

''Educating the locals to what's available means we will have customers even when the overseas market goes through the low part of its cycle.''

If there's one word for the future, it's wellness. Or, if you want two words, health hub . . . or destination spa.

This is where the line becomes ''Phuket Spa & Resort'' instead of the other way around.

Wellness will lead spas to develop an interest in the broader lifestyle of customers, paying closer attention through personalised treatment.

The surrounding resort, whether its in the mountains or beside the beach, comes second, in a sense, to the focus of the proactive treatment.

With so many people living and working in cities, the recovery process also aims to deal with stress and help to develop coping mechanisms.

''This means expanding into health centres and a more involving way of looking at people's lives and every aspect of their physical and mental health,'' she says.

Spas will need to grow and adapt. Government taxes of 17 percent a year on the industry are holding back progress, according to Khun Chernporn.

Once, years ago, there was a lack of differentiation between basic massage, sometimes with sexual services attached, and high-end spa treatments, with wellness as the goal.

Now Khun Chernporn believes more people people are coming to understand the diferences and turning to the sophisticated end of the industry.

But the new approach is coming gradually and it will take continuing education to reap the full benefits, she says.

Thai expertise is constantly being carried overseas by Thai-based consultants, who are setting up systems around the world.

Phuket spas, she says, are unique as relaxing spas, as distinct from Thai spas generally. And yes, she is looking forward to the next 10 years.