The German Association for the Recreational and Medicinal Bath Industry (DGfdB) will stage the 65th Congress for Pool and Bath Technology during interbad 2014, which will be held at the Stuttgart Trade Fair Centre from 21 to 24 October 2014.

The four specialist conferences and five special events this year will feature over 40 first-class talks for decision-makers and responsible employees from municipal swimming pools, for owners and managers of privately run baths and saunas, as well as for hotels and spas. The key topic of energy efficiency in the construction, technical equipment and operation of swimming pools and saunas will be a recurrent theme throughout the Congress programme which will comprise four specialist conferences and a block containing special events.

The specialist conference on "Public baths" with the three topics "construction of baths", "pool and bath technology" and "operation of baths" will reveal, for example, the new recommendations of the German Swimming and Bath Pool Water Commission, will present the results of the third "Baths Barometer" and will shed light on energy-optimised design and construction.

The specialist conferences on "Saunas" will examine, for example, liability risks in saunas and swimming pools or the improvement in the energy balance of public saunas.

It will also feature the topic "What does the wellness lucky bag contain?" Personnel management problems and potential solutions such as recruitment strategies for apprentices and team development will be the focal point of the specialist conference on "Swimming pool personnel".

In the specialist conference on "Private baths", renowned industry experts will provide practical information under the key topic of "renovation" during the "Swimming pool constructors day". The special events will present, for example, the winners of the Public Value Award, will look at the demands on swimming pools from the aspect of an authentic spa setting and will examine the development potential of the swimming pool market from the perspective of private swimming pool operators.

This year, the German Association for the Recreational and Medicinal Bath Industry is also organising for the first time an "International Business Day“ with events in English as part of the Congress for Pool and Bath Technology. The "International Business Day" will attract swimming pool experts to Stuttgart from all over Europe. The programme will include a guided tour of interbad and Congress modules under the headline "Energy and environmental sustainability in European swimming facilities“. They will intensify the international discussion on the topic of "energy and sustainability". The "International Business Day“ will be rounded off by a tour of swimming pools in Stuttgart on the Friday.

Congress programme and registration: www.kongress-badewesen2014.de

Emotion and inspiration

The second programme facet at interbad will be the Spa Market Conference, which is being organised by the Spa Business Verlag (publishing company). This Conference for the spa and wellness industries will contain highly informative talks and podium discussions on the first two days of interbad 2014.

Topics:

● A "journey into the future" will be the title of the first topic block which will examine, for example, demographic change and the resulting effects on future customers.

● In the topic block "360° degrees: concept and visions of selected spas", the participants will obtain, for example, an in-depth insight into the concept, design and visions of Schloss Elmau (Elmau Castle) in the Bavarian Alps.

● The topic block "Spa Business International & Spa Specialists“ will show stimuli from Europe on how niches can be successfully established.

● Another area entitled "Spa tools; tools and screws for the spa trade" will examine, for example, the key aspects of service development or fitness in spas.

● The fifth topic block "Marketing 2014: guests, stories, wishes“ will focus, for example, on the mega-trend of "escapism" from marketing and media aspects.

● Finally, "Inside the cabin: behind the scenes" will provide information on continuous personnel management in spas. This section will be devoted entirely to aspects such as social skills or motivation incentives. However, aspects relating to design for treatment and retail areas will also be analysed here. The Spa Market Conference will also again culminate this year with the presentation of the Spa Business Award.

You can find the complete programme and information on the speakers and how to register at: www.spa-business.eu.