Signs of economic recovery are on the horizon for the pool and spa sector in Spain, after the sector grew by six per cent in 2014. Last year 16,800 new swimming pools were built in Spain, double the amount built in 2013.
With 1.1 million pools, Spain is second in Europe and fourth in the world in terms of swimming pool ownership. But the slowdown in new swimming pool construction during the years of the economic crisis resulted in a progressively ageing pool stock.
Around 60 per cent of privately-owned pools in Spain are more than 10 years old and have very basic standards of equipment and accessories.
These were the findings of a recent industry report based on the Spanish private pools market by the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors of Equipment and Chemical Products, Maintenance and Construction of Swimming Pools and Sporting Facilities (ASOFAP) and the trade show Piscina & Wellness Barcelona 2015.
The report also reveals that lighting is the major equipment feature with three out of four Spanish pools featuring some kind of lighting system, but the presence of other types of equipment is considerably lower. Less than 40 per cent of pools have covers and only one out of four has some form of safety system. As for water treatment systems, there has been a spectacular increase in salt electrolysis as a disinfection system. In terms of filtration, 70 per cent of swimming pools continue to use sand, although the use of cartridges is on the increase.
