The fair has grown by 12% and brings together the leading companies in the international pool and spa market
Piscina & Wellness Barcelona takes the plunge into connectivity, sustainability and innovation
Piscina & Wellness Barcelona celebrates its 25th anniversary with a renewed commitment to innovation, sustainability and internationalisation, the three values that have guided it from the beginning. Thus, in its next edition, it will be showing off the latest technological solutions and services of the ‘smart, connected and eco-efficient swimming pool’, as well as offering a global vision of residential and public swimming pools, aquatic facilities, and a large display of wellness, spa and fitness equipment.
Organised by Fira de Barcelona in collaboration with the Spanish Association of Pool Professionals (ASOFAP in its Spanish initials), Piscina & Wellness Barcelona will bring together more than 350 exhibitors from 25 countries and more than 500 brands in 35,000m2 of raw exhibition space from 15th to 18th October at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue, representing a 12% increase in the number of stands and surface area it occupied with respect to the previous edition, held in 2017.
The trade show places more emphasis than ever on innovation and will be demonstrating the latest product innovations, technologies and eco-efficient solutions that improve sustainability, control and automation of remote maintenance and, above all, the pool user experience.
The chairman of the fair’s organising committee and executive chairman of Fluidra, Eloi Planes, explains: “concepts such as health, sport, wellness, connectivity and caring for the environment are revolutionising the world of swimming pools. For Planes, “market growth depends on the incorporation of innovative and high quality products, as well as high added value services in aquatic facilities”. In this respect, Piscina & Wellness Barcelona is the best showcase to find out about the coming trends and how to apply them both in new facilities and in existing ones.
Marked international focus
The main market leaders such as Fluidra, Espa, Pentair, Zodiac, BS Pool, Emaux, Renolit, QP Grupo, Ercros, Rosa Gres, Hayward, Abrisud, Construcciones Deportivas Condal, Aquavia, Inbeca, Thomas Wellness Group, Action Park, Whirlcare and Technogym will be among those present at the fair, which will occupy two halls at the Gran Via venue. At the same time, the event is once again achieving large numbers of international exhibitors, 58% of whom come from abroad.
Thus, after Spain, the country that contributes the most companies is China, followed by France, the USA, the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy. Due to its total number of swimming pools—the second largest in Europe and the fourth-largest in the world—the Spanish market offers interesting business opportunities for the renovation, maintenance and equipping of residential aquatic facilities. The rising demand for products and services for public swimming pools and recreational aquatic facilities, as well as from the wellness and spa installations being promoted by the country’s tourism sector, is also a strong attraction. That is why international firms regard the fair as a direct means of contacting the main players in terms of demand in Spain.
At the same time, Piscina & Wellness Barcelona leverages the marked international focus of its offering to attract professionals from all over the world. This appeal to draw attendees from abroad (45% of its more than 13,000 visitors in 2017 were foreigners) especially helps to promote Spanish exports in the sector within Europe as well as in Latin America and the Mediterranean basin, the fair’s main regions of influence. The organisation of business meetings between exhibitors and foreign visitors is planned through the more than 130 scheduled business meetings with “hosted buyers” – buyers invited by the trade show – from up to 26 countries. 300 buyers are also expected to attend, with specific domestic projects linked mainly to the hotel and tourism sector.
After the success of the last edition, Piscina & Wellness Barcelona will also be holding the second meeting of companies and professionals from Latin America and Europe to exchange knowledge and business contacts. The event will be attended by architects, designers, developers, tourism investors and hotel operators from various Latin American and Caribbean countries, which constitute one of the main areas of luxury hotel investment in the world and the fastest growing regions in the wellness industry.
Innovation and knowledge, the keys to development
In order to share experiences and information and to show the innovation that drives the sector, the trade show will feature the ‘Innovation Zone’, a space where the most innovative products in the trade fair will be exhibited as well as the winners of the 2019 Pool & Wellness Awards. There will also be the exhibition “IoT Smart Water” with digital solutions applied to pool controls and maintenance, a consulting area on internationalisation and financing for companies, and the Startup.font, where a dozen technology-based companies will present their projects and business concepts related to water and wellness and participate in meetings with investors from the Keiretsu Forum network.
In addition, for the third consecutive edition, the Wellness Experience space will be re-created once more, a complete wellness centre that will allow you to see the technical systems required for its operation, consult experts and learn about the latest trends in design, equipment and technology, as well as services and treatments that can be offered. The event will also be the setting for the Wellness Experience Professional Conference, in which more than 20 experts will participate as speakers, and several micro-workshops and demonstrations of aquatic therapies such as H2O Mindfulness, Thermal Yoga, Aqua Elastic, Ai-Chi or Bahiku.
Piscina & Wellness Barcelona will also be hosting various conferences, including the 4th Aquatic Leisure Symposium, which will debate issues related to the safety and management of swimming pools and recreational facilities at hotels, camp-sites and holiday resorts. There will also be a series of conferences dedicated to public swimming pools and sports centres, a seminar organised by the Fitness Management School focusing on the search for a balance between humanisation and technology, and several conferences related to digitalisation, sustainability and hotel management, with the participation of the International Circle of Hotel Directors (IACHR), among other topics.
The 25th anniversary edition
To commemorate its 25 years accompanying the Spanish pool sector in its evolution and growth, Piscina & Wellness Barcelona has set up a photography exhibition with images of the different editions of the event and the winning products of the 2019 Awards that are part of the trade fair. In the same vein, the main event of the fair, held at the Gran Via venue on 15th October, will be the presentation of this year’s prizes, followed by a party that will bring together the main companies and professionals in the sector.
Piscina & Wellness Barcelona will coincide at the same time and venue as the International Caravaning Show.
Barcelona, 3rd October 2019
Gloria Dilluvio / Maria Dolores Herranz
Tel. 93 233 21 72 – 25 41
gdilluvio@firabarcelona.com
mdherranz@firabarcelona.com