The second Piscina & Wellness Forum, held on 4 and 5 October in Madrid (Spain), established itself as the main platform for training and the dissemination of knowledge for professionals in the fields of residential and public use pools and wellness centres. The Forum, which coincided with the parallel BBMeeting event of the BBConstrumat Fair, bringing together a total of 400 attendees, welcomed 30 speakers, who, throughout the talks, pointed to sustainability, the quality of materials, the application of new technological solutions, water use and digitalisation as the main market trends.
The pool sector confirms its robust health and the prospects remain positive for 2019. Similarly, sustainability, the sensible use of water and energy resources, water quality control and the digital transformation are the main challenges for the future. These were some of the conclusions drawn by the Forum, organised by the Spanish Association of Swimming Pool Sector Professionals (ASOFAP in its Spanish initials) and the Piscina & Wellness Fair of Fira de Barcelona, which focused mainly on market behaviour and consumer needs, as well as the revamping and adaptation of the business of the companies operating in the fields of residential pools, recreational aquatic facilities, wellness centres and spas.
The Piscina & Wellness Forum brought together 30 speakers, who took part in more than 20 events including plenary sessions, talks and panel discussions, attended by more than 200 professionals interested in the analysis of market trends, the implementation of innovative solutions, new technologies, customer behaviour and the economic situation in the pool sector.
Three axes
With regard to the segment devoted to residential pools, the Forum focused on water and energy savings, the development of sustainable products that are respectful towards the environment and entail a biological approach, safety and the use of digital systems to monitor pools as some of the final consumers’ concerns, which manufacturers and distributors have to address. In addition, among the challenges facing the future, experts agreed on the need to offer customers high-quality products that lead to long-term savings, as well as an after-sale service delivered by specialists to reduce the practice of unqualified tradesmen and to ensure customers receive effective guidance, not only when building a pool but also when maintaining or upgrading it.
As for the field of public use pools (recreational and sporting aquatic facilities), the speakers focused mainly on the importance of pool water quality in relation to the applicable legislation and regulations, in order to prevent risks to the public such as legionella bacteria and to safeguard public health. In this respect, the experts agreed on the need to monitor the work of the usual operators by means of regular inspections carried out by specialised companies. The complementary topics included issues related to integrated management and public pool maintenance.
In the field of wellness and spas, the experts highlighted the boom this sector experienced, whose future involves increasing the number of centres, placing them in new contexts (events, congresses, cinemas, shops, etc.) rather than just in hotels and spas. From the point of view of marketing, the specialists pointed out the need to empathise with customers in order to optimise the user experience related to the products and services. There was also evidence of the boost the new technologies are providing for the wellness business so as to better understand and reach more customers demanding new wellness experiences (using big data).
