SPLASH! breaks all records with biggest ever Australasian pool and spa trade show
The SPLASH! Pool & Spa Trade Show has “come of age” according to visitors, exhibitors and organisers.
Not only was the 2016 event the biggest ever pool and spa trade show held in Australasia; the effort, expense and creativity from the exhibitors saw many people compare the expo to American and European shows.
There were more exhibitors than ever before, more floorspace and more visitors. The 122 exhibitors covered 4795 square metres of the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre exhibition floor, and a record 2427 visitors came to the show and the associated Swim Disability Conference, a 16 per cent increase over the 2014 numbers.
A lot of money spent on stands
Peter Wallace, managing director of AstralPool Australia, the show’s platinum sponsor, says he was just blown away by the quality of the stands and the presentation of the show.
“When you stand back it looks like an American or a European trade exhibition,” he says.
“I don’t know what it is, whether it’s the building and the venue, but certainly the major exhibitors and even the smaller ones have spent a lot of money on their stands. It looks good, it’s professional and I think the best thing for all of us is that there have been plenty of customers through. I’m really happy with it. And I think having a show every second year really works, because there’s enough of interest to drag the customers in.”
Aiming for global top five
Interpoint managing director Simon Cooper says that the 2016 edition of the SPLASH! Pool & Spa Trade Show really came of age with the move to the large Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.
“The venue provided opportunities for exhibitors to showcase the best of the best in terms of pool products and services,” he says. “The SPLASH! Pool & Spa Trade Show has now cemented itself as the leading industry trade show in the Australasian market and placed itself for the first time on the international stage.”
Cooper says he received comments from international attendees that the expo was comparable with those held in Europe and the USA.
“With the largest ever attendance of exhibitors and visitors, the broadest ever provision of education and seminars and a popular new partnership established with the Australian Swim Schools Association who ran a successful International Swim Disability Conference – the stage is set for the 10th anniversary in 2018 to push The SPLASH! Pool & Spa Trade Show into one of the top five pool and spa trade shows in the world.”
ASSA and SPASA
Ross Gage, CEO of the Australian Swim Schools Association says he is delighted with ASSA’s affiliation with SPLASH!
“The collaboration has resulted in a world-leading conference on teaching people with disability to swim and a first-class inaugural Australian Swim Schools Conference,” he says.
“By linking with the superb SPLASH! Pool & Spa Trade Show, a level of engagement was provided to the swim school industry not seen before in Australia,” he says.
There were a large number of other associated events including a comprehensive training schedule and the SPASA Australia National Awards Gala.
SPLASH! magazine will run a full review of the show in edition 108 due to be published in October.
See some photos of the show on Instragram, and upload your own using the hastag #splashgc2016.
