With more exhibitors and visitors, the show has reflected the recovery of a sector that is focusing on R&D.
Climate of optimism at the end of the 12th edition of Piscina and Wellness Barcelona
The 12th edition of Piscina & Wellness Barcelona comes to close this afternoon, leaving a highly positive sensation, indicating that the recovery is taking hold in the sector, and that demand in the Spanish market is picking up. The exhibitors highlight the vibrancy and upbeat atmosphere throughout the event, as well as the increase in the number of professionals with specific proposals attending the show.
At the end of this edition, Piscina & Wellness Barcelona has reached 12,000 visitors: 12% up on the initial forecast. 42% of the professionals registered are international, from up to 76 countries, principally France, Italy, Portugal and Germany. Buyers from Israel, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Argentina, Mexico, Morocco, and Brazil, among others have also participated in the business meetings scheduled by the show.
There has also been a good reception among those attending, who highlight the greater number of innovations and the increase in the exhibition offer, with 287 direct exhibitors (13% up on 2013) and 450 companies represented. This year, there has been a greater attendance by professionals from sectors related with sports facilities and tourist establishments, as well as increased interest from the setting of wellness.
Forward-looking approach: Leisure and wellness
The chairman of the Piscina & Wellness Barcelona Organising Committee, Eloi Planes, expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the fair: “This edition substantiates the recovery and lays the foundations for continued growth in two settings of expansion: wellness and water facilities”. He predicts that the innovative solutions and equipment offered by the swimming pool sector “will be increasingly applicable in businesses related with health, wellness, tourism and leisure”.
And it is precisely wellness which has been the centrepiece of this edition. As a concept, not only has it been incorporated into the show’s name, it has also gained prominence through the number of exhibitors at the event (25% up on the figure for 2013) and through the activities conducted. In this sense, the star space was the “Wellness Experience”, where a score of collaborating companies recreated a wellness centre, fully equipped with all the latest fittings, including an active swimming pool, spas, saunas and different treatment booths.
Speaking of this space, the show’s director, Josep Jonàs, affirmed that objective of “creating a setting perfectly equipped and capable of given a comprehensive overview of what a top-level wellness centre must be like” has been met. Jonàs spoke of the interest that this area has generated among architects, owners of hotels and other tourist establishments, profiles which have taken advantage of the free consultancy sessions on offer.
Additionally, the Wellness & Spa Event, an international forum focusing on trends and opportunities in the wellness industry, was attended by around 500 people. Around thirty experts participated in the conference sessions, including Jeremy McCarthy, Group Director of Spa at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. All the speakers concurred in acknowledging an essential change in the concept of wellness, which, as McCarthy states, “no longer can be summed up as “diet and exercise” but includes things like the need for rest and recovery and the need for emotional and psychological well-being” This congress on wellness, which is to be an annual event as of 2016, has also explored the synergies between wellness, tourism and health.
The section on water installations also had an increased presence in this edition. As an activity complementary to this setting, a symposium on water park safety, design and management regulations has been held, attended by around 50 people.
More innovation
As ever, the swimming pool sector (public and residential) has accounted for the bulk of the show’s offer. The principal solutions and equipment on offer have been aimed at the refurbishment and replacement market, since Spain is the second largest European market in terms of the number of swimming pools, with a total of 1.16 million. Throughout this edition, a good number of innovations have been presented. These have been exhibited and explained in the Innovation zone, highlighting the major trends in the sector: automation and connectivity; sustainability; the provision of experiences related with health and wellness. In the same area, a number of examples of the Internet of Things applied to the world of swimming pools have been on display.
Additionally, within the setting of Piscina & Wellness Barcelona, the show’s prizes were awarded during a grand sectoral event held in the Palacio de Pedralbes, and chaired by the Regional Minister for Industry and Employment, Felip Puig, who also opened the show. The most innovative product of this year was a kit that detects the presence of Legionnaire’s disease in just one hour, and the most sustainable, an eco-efficient ceramic micro-filtration system, which reduces water consumption, disinfectant and electrical consumption. A number of civil work projects were also recognised: the renovated municipal swimming pool of Santa Perpètua de Mogoda (Barcelona), the new Constantina indoor swimming pool in Seville; the two swimming pools at the Casa Sardinera family home in Javea (Alicante), and the Monterosa Terme, high-mountain wellness centre in the province of Aosta (Italy). During the same ceremony, the prizes given by EUSA, the European Union of Swimming Pool and Spa Associations were awarded.
The next edition of Piscina & Wellness Barcelona, organised by Fira de Barcelona in collaboration with the Federation of Associations of Equipment Manufacturers and Constructors of Swimming Pools, Saunas and Spas (ASOFAP), will be held in October 2017.
Barcelona, 16 October 2015