DALLAS - Hanley Wood Exhibitions experienced significant attendee growth at its 2013 International Pool, Spa, Patio Expo, a signal that positive growth may be in store for 2014.

Total attendance was 11,120, a 16% increase over the 2012 show in New Orleans. Attendees represented all segments of the industry, including pool/spa builders, retailers, service companies, designers, and landscape architects from around the globe. The conference program also showed significant growth with a 16% attendance jump over the previous year.

The 2013 show was held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, with the educational conference taking place November 9-14. Attendees found a wide collection of products, services, and technologies available on the show floor, and exhibitors were pleased with excellent traffic during the show.

The educational conference featured more than 40 new classes, developed with the support of a special advisory panel. Completely redesigned pre-conference programs were presented by The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals and Genesis 3.

“A constant buzz of business occurring on the floor could be heard from every corner of the expo hall; it was electric,” said Tracy Garcia (pictured), CEM, director of the Expo. “We have many exhibitor commitments already in place for 2014, so we are very optimistic as we look forward our 2014 show in Orlando.” 

“We could not be more pleased with the results of the 2013 Expo. Rave reviews from attendees and our members about the show floor and educational offerings, coupled with the continued buzz from our Awards of Excellence sponsorship of the Welcome Party and the great responses from exhibitors make this show a real success,” said Rich Gottwald, the new CEO and President of APSP and the show’s official sponsor, who had a 2,500 square foot booth at the show.

APSP also hosted a Big Dog reception for APSP certified professionals, included a VIP lounge in their booth and launched their new Wave Young Professionals Network initiative at the 2013 PSP Expo.

With 1,400-plus booths represented by 539 exhibiting companies, the show floor spanned 140,850 square feet of exhibit space, with an additional 10,000 net square feet of educational and training space. Of the 539 exhibiting companies, 125 were first-time exhibitors. 

It was clear the exhibitors spent a lot of time and energy ensuring an incredible show floor experience for the attendees. And that inspiring show floor did not go unnoticed by the attendees as the show maintained a high level of attendance on the show floor across all three days of the expo with the feedback being incredibly positive.

The 2014 International Pool, Spa, Patio Expo will be held November 5-7, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The educational conference will be held November 2-7. Housing reservations can be made at http://poolspapatio.com/Attendee/Travel/Housing. Online registration will open in late June.

www.PoolSpaPatio.com