Piscina & Wellness Barcelona’s latest edition has ended after four days of intense activity and 33 hours of total show floor time. More than 14,000 professionals came to the event. It featured 367 exhibitors in 30 countries.
This is the largest show in 2023, thanks to the international connections with Europe, Latin America and the Mediterranean, as well as the size of the Spanish market (more that 1.3 million units).
The event is growing nicely after the pandemic year. It has increased its surface area commercially by 54% in comparison to 2021. 68% of the foreign companies participated, and the number of attendees increased by 40%. The 2019 show attendance was 16% higher than the 2018 show. This year’s show was marked by the presence of more international buyers, including those from Mexico, France Portugal Italy China, Belgium Germany and the Middle East.
Eloi Planes is the president of Piscina & Wellness Barcelona. She says, “We have been able to attract quality clients and visitors with specific projects which require solutions that are very focused on sustainability in order to adapt all types aquatic facilities both for residential and public usage to the requirements of the climate change context we find ourselves in.”
Planes highlighted also “the fair’s contribution to giving visibility to innovations in the sector, and to highlight the impact of swimming pool infrastructures as necessary infrastructures to improve people’s health and well-being by creating spaces for social relations.”
A great feature of this year’s show was the Wellness Experience, which included a chance to immerse yourself in Roman baths, an ice spa and a tropical beach, plus a virtual tour through a perfectly designed wellness space. The idea behind the exhibit section is to focus industry professionals on the experience of our products.
ACTIVITIES
The show included a number special interest areas including the Innovation Zone with approximately 20 new products to create a smart pool that is connected, sustainable, and healthy. This area featured intelligent solar skimmers, salt chlorinators and controls as well as quiet and energy efficient pumps.
The Wellness Experience was another focus of the show. It is a large, multi-purpose wellness center that includes an active pool, showers and saunas as well as a fitness area. There were also live demonstrations on aquatic therapies, and treatments within the treatment cabins. Visitors to this area were able to experience a virtual immersion of Roman baths on ice, tropical beaches, and spas. The ‘Outdoor Living Experience showroom’ was also noteworthy, as it showcased products and services related swimming pools, outdoor decorations, and outdoor wellness experiences.
Piscina & Wellness Barcelona hosted a number of conferences to promote debate and networking. One of these was the Pool Horizons Summit. This event, promoted by leading companies in the industry, reflected upon the role swimming pools play and their contribution towards social and environmental issues.
Congress venue at Piscina & Wellness Barcelona, a meeting point for industry professionals that came from 100 different countries.
Awards
This year, Piscina & Wellness Barcelona has again awarded prizes for the best products at the tradeshow, the best wellness establishments in the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and the aquatic projects by architecture students around the world. Around 100 entries were received for the three competitions.
Winners include:
- Fluidra for its new AstralPool Verdon VS connected variable-speed pumps.
- The Wellness Experience Awards recognized the top spas and thalassotherapy centres of the year. The winners included the Vidago Palace Hotel Golf & Spa Wellness Center in Vidago, Portugal (Vila real), The Retreat at Blue Lagoon, Iceland and Parador Costa da Morte, Muxia in A Coruna province.
- The student Catalina Petra Lizasoain, from the Madrid School of Architecture (ETSAM), won the first prize at the International Competition for Architecture Students, with her project, “Aquatic Sticking”.
