New solutions minimize water, energy and chemical consumption in pools, spas and aquatic facilities
Piscina & Wellness Barcelona 2023 makes visible the industry’s commitment to sustainability
With the largest participation in the last 10 years and with a record internationality. This will be Piscina & Wellness Barcelona, the European benchmark event for entering the important Spanish swimming pool market, which will be held from 27 to 30 November at the Gran Via venue. The trade show will bring together 360 companies, 68% international, from up to 30 countries, which will exhibit solutions and technologies for swimming pools, wellness spaces and more sustainable, healthy, connected, and experiential aquatic facilities.
Organized by Fira de Barcelona with the support of the Spanish swimming pool sector association ASOFAP, the trade show increases its commercial surface area by 54% compared to the last edition held in 2021 and will occupy more than 40,000m2 gross in pavilions 1 and 2 of the venue. The main national and international companies in the sector will participate with swimming pool products for residential and public use, as well as installations, equipment and accessories related to wellness, spa, fitness, and outdoor decoration.
The president of the Organizing Committee and Fluidra’s executive president, Eloi Planes, explains: “currently the main vector of innovation in the swimming pool sector is sustainability, with proposals that minimize the consumption of water, energy, and chemical products. As an industry we want to showcase and highlight this innovation and commitment to sustainability as an effective tool for creating environmentally responsible infrastructures designed to have a positive impact on people’s individual and social wellbeing.”
Spain, top international market
With more than 1.3 million units, Spain is the fourth country in the world and the second in Europe with the most pools. Because of its size, the Spanish market is key to the business of international manufacturers and distributors, who use the Barcelona trade show as a gateway to contact demand. This is reflected in the fair, the most international on the sector’s trade fair calendar, which this year has a record level of foreign participation, with 68% of exhibitors coming from outside Spain. The most represented countries, in addition to Spain, are China, France, Turkey, Italy, Netherlands, USA, Italy, Netherlands, UK, Portugal, Belgium and Germany.
The list of exhibitors includes leading companies in the sector such as Fluidra, Hayward, Fairland, Productos QP, Emaux, Aquavia Spa, Eurospas, PHNX, Superior Wellness, CGT Alkor, Fix a Leak, Action Park Waterscapes, ATH – BWT, Espa, Construcciones Condal, Rosa Gres, Grupo Baeza, Ercros, Renolit, Basecrete, Gresmanc, Iber Coverpool, Inffinitty, Superior Wellness, Hisom, K7 Rekker, Lifestylegarden, Lightpro and Visendum.
The sectors with the largest offer are pool construction, wellness-spa, liners, purification (pumps and filters) and water treatment. Also important is the presence of all kinds of accessories for the installation of swimming pools, covers, lighting, measuring and control equipment, and safety and accessibility solutions. The trade show’s offer is completed by prefabricated pool vessels, climate control, cleaning products, recreational aquatic facilities, design software, and furniture and accessories for outdoor areas.
As a novelty and as part of the environmental footprint reduction measures implemented by the event, this year all the swimming pools and spas exhibited at the trade show will be filled with vitalized seawater, a sustainable alternative promoted by the company “Mas qué iniciativas”. At the close of the event, this water will be collected for reuse in other aquatic facilities or in fire-fighting ponds.
Sustainability and connectivity
The sector’s innovative efforts will be reflected in the stands and also in the Innovation Zone, an area that highlights the best sustainable and connected solutions at the fair that are eligible for the Piscina & Wellness Barcelona Awards. Energy savings and water consumption reduction that can reach up to 90%, the impact of digitalization and connectivity in pool maintenance, the importance of architectural design or the creation of healthy, leisure and wellness experiences are trendsetting.
In this sense, it will be possible to see from an intelligent robot to eliminate waste that works with solar energy to a compact home spa for 5 people with integrated sun loungers. Also salt chlorinators capable of controlling the disinfection of the pool and the operation of peripheral equipment such as waterfalls or LED lighting, water purifiers that reduce by up to 85% the use of chemicals or the quietest and most efficient pool pumps in terms of energy consumption in the market, among more than twenty selected products.
The social side of pools
At the same time, Piscina & Wellness Barcelona will host the first Pool Horizons Summit, an event promoted by the world’s leading companies and organizations in the sector that aims to promote debate on the role of swimming pools and their contribution to social and environmental challenges on a global scale.
As part of the Summit, several social transformation projects will be showcased with the swimming pool as the main protagonist. Among the “Best in class” success stories will be the +POOL project, a cross-shaped floating pool whose walls filter and clean the water and which will allow the inhabitants of New York to swim in the Hudson River; the “Nager à Paris”, initiative, an unprecedented plan to modernize the French capital’s public swimming pool park, accompanied by social measures; shipping containers transformed into portable swimming centers by South Africa’s National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) to teach people to swim; and POOL, a multidisciplinary museum experience in Philadelphia that examines the social role of swimming pools in ending racial segregation in America.
A Spa working
On the other hand, Piscina & Wellness Barcelona will again build the ‘Wellness Experience’, a fully operational wellness center that will showcase the latest equipment, products and solutions for this type of establishments, as well as treatments, demonstrations of aquatic therapies and immersive virtual reality experiences. Another outstanding space will be the ‘Outdoor Living Experience’ with furniture, accessories and landscaping services for outdoor design surrounding swimming pools.
In the training area, the conference organized by the Asociación Española de Paisajistas (AEP) on new paradigms in landscaping and the impact of climate change on project design will take place. Also the sessions of INDESCAT, Catalan cluster of the sports industry, on sustainability and digitization of swimming pools. Also noteworthy is the IV Europe – Latin America – Middle East Business Meeting, a day that will bring together buyers and specifiers from these markets linked to architecture, hospitality, and the tourism industry to analyze business opportunities in wellness, accompanied by an agenda of business meetings.
Finally, the show will hold a gala dinner that will be the setting for the Piscina & Wellness Barcelona Awards for the most sustainable and innovative products at the fair, the Wellness Experience Awards for the best Iberian and European spas, spas and thalassotherapy centers, and the International Architecture Competition for Students.
Barcelona, November 2023
PRESS KIT PISCINA & WELLNESS BARCELONA 2023 here
PRESS REGISTRATION here
IMAGES (2021) here
Further information:
Gloria Dilluvio / Maria Dolors Herranz
Tel. +34 93 233 21 72 – 25 41
gdilluvio@firabarcelona.com
mdherranz@firabarcelona.com