Just four months after aquanale 2021 the team behind the International Trade Fair for Sauna.Pool.Ambience is already working hard on the next event. “It’s important that we now capitalise on the momentum generated by aquanale 2021 – which provided vital inspiration as the industry’s first in-person event after two years of enormous challenges – in order to further develop the trade fair and its position as the industry’s leading platform,” says Bettina Frias, Director of aquanale. “We are using the excellent results of the 2019 event, the last edition of aquanale to take place under “normal” conditions, as a benchmark. And even if online registration only opens officially in a few months’ time, we are already having discussions with numerous companies from Germany and further afield regarding stand space for the 2023 edition.” Online registration for aquanale 2023, which will be held on 24–27 October 2023, will open in August 2022.
An independent survey of exhibitors and visitors underlines the tremendous importance of aquanale, alongside the fact that it succeeded in providing the industry with crucial momentum even under last year’s difficult global circumstances. The survey results were at the same level as the successful 2019 event in every respect, and even higher in some areas. 65 per cent of exhibiting companies were very satisfied/satisfied with their trade fair participation, compared to 55 per cent at aquanale 2019. Around 74 per cent of respondents applauded the extremely high quality of the aquanale visitor profile. And 88 per cent of exhibiting companies stated that they would recommend the trade fair to others.
For two thirds of the exhibitors surveyed, the focus of their trade fair attendance was on industry networking, establishing new business contacts and cultivating existing business relations, and presenting their new products. 75 per cent of exhibitors at aquanale 2021 stated that they had achieved their defined goals in Cologne. As a result, 70 per cent were already sure in November 2021 that they would be returning to exhibit at aquanale 2023 – the corresponding figure after aquanale 2019 was 61 per cent.
Visitors to aquanale were also very satisfied with their trade fair experience: three quarters of respondents stated that they achieved the goals they had set for their trade fair visit. Around 90 per cent of visitors stated they were involved in purchasing and procurement decisions with their companies – another indicator of aquanale’s high-quality visitor profile. Two thirds of trade visitors to aquanale 2021 used the first industry platform after a two-year break to gain a comprehensive overview of the market, exchange experiences, create new and cultivate existing contacts, and to discover new trends and products. Seeking advice and testing products were also on the agenda for many visitors.
aquanale’s specialist event programme also received high ratings – especially the International Swimming Pool and Wellness Forum, which was given a very positive assessment by 77 per cent of the visitors surveyed. The “Village” of the European Waterpark Association (EWA), as a networking platform for the pool industry’s leisure and waterpark sector, also received very high approval ratings at 75 per cent.
aquanale 2023 will take place from 24 to 27 October 2023 in co-location with FSB, the International Trade Fair for Public Space, Sports and Leisure Facilities.
Further information is available at www.fsb-cologne.com and www.aquanale.com