Pool and aquatics professionals from all over the world gathered in Lyon, France, to attend the 2016 Piscine Global Europe exhibition.
According to show officials, the expo is the largest of its kind in the world, spanning 581,000 square feet across three exhibition halls. The biannual event, held Nov. 15-18, hosted 596 pool and spa exhibitors and brought together a total of 17,876 people, an increase of 6.6 percent from the previous event in 2014, said show officials.
“A great deal of work goes into planning this exhibition, but most of the actions we rolled out for this edition were aimed at attracting a steady flow of high-quality visitors,” said Noémi Petit, director of Piscine Global Europe.
Attendees enjoyed access to nearly 30 seminars, live aqua fitness and water testing demonstrations, and three awards programs that honored design and innovations in pool products. In addition, three groups — public officials; architects, designers and landscapers; and tourism and leisure facility managers — were treated to theme days dedicated to addressing their specific aquatics concerns.
Another key highlight was the Pool Summit, a meeting that served as a health assessment of the global pool market. Leaders from more than 15 international pool and spa associations around the world presented pool growth data from their respective countries. Participants included members of the European Union, Switzerland, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, Canada and the U.S.
The show also has attracted more interest from U.S. manufacturers wishing to break into or expand their reach in the European market, with nearly 50 companies exhibiting this year.
“We were pleased to get a lot of activity at our booth,” said first-time exhibitor Donna Schreiber, co-owner of Mi-Way. “The show was very well run and well attended. The four days just flew by.”
The next edition of Piscine Global Europe will be held in Nov. 13-16, 2018.
