Hot Tub & Swim Spa Scene SPATEX REVIEW
HOT PROSPECTS
The hot tub sector enjoys its best ever SPATEX, Damian Corbet reports… ABOVE: Plastica’s fully working spa in a VW car was the runaway winning attraction at this year’s SPATEX.
The weather might have been cold, but the UK’s hottest destination at the end of January was officially Coventry’s Ricoh Arena for SPATEX 2018, UK’s annual wet leisure exhibition. The show was the perfect platform for the UK’s thriving hot tub industry to show off its latest products and services directly to contractors, installers, distributors and end-users. In fact, it’s not just UK companies who exhibit at SPATEX – this year saw even more companies from the European continent, the USA, Canada and China making an appearance.
The runaway winning attraction at the show was a fully working spa within the body of a VW car complete with filtration.
One of the highlights of the show was an extensive schedule of seminars and workshops spread over the three days. These talks provided visitors with updates and tips on topics ranging from the latest health and safety legislation to hot tub heating. The breadth of knowledge on display was very impressive and gave audiences plenty of food for thought to take away with them. Of particular interest were talks on HSG282, the HSE’s newly- published guidance on the control of legionella and other infectious agents in spa-pool systems; and on the upcoming Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) which could have far-reaching consequences for the hot tub industry. “Ignore the BPR at your peril” was a quote from an audience member at the end of the seminar.
Recent research by Hoseasons has shown that accommodation with a hot tub is now the top search term when people are booking accommodation. This has led to a growing trend for more and more holiday parks to install individual hot tubs in their lodges – and heating is becoming a major issue according to Phil Allman, Bowmans’ Marketing Manager.
“Electric heaters are the traditional way to heat up hot tubs, and a 3 or 4 kW heater can take up to 24 hours to heat a cold spa up to 38 degrees. A 7 or 8 KW heater is quicker but uses a lot more energy. “At guest change-over times, new guests expect the tub to be ready – or almost ready – when they check in. They don’t want to wait a day or even half a day to enjoy what they’ve paid for.
ABOVE: The Riptide team was clearly impressed by their first visit to SPATEX’s new home.
16 Hot Tub & Swim Spa Scene SPATEX REVIEW
TREND SETTERS “A significant trend is therefore emerging for holiday parks to look for alternative ways to hear their hot tubs. Our heat exchangers can be linked to an external heat source, such as a gas boiler or biomass – whatever is available – and can heat up a tub in about three hours. And by avoiding using electricity as heat source, they dramatically
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
