Cevisama is forging along the path to growth that it embarked upon five years ago and is poised for what could well be an historic edition. The upcoming edition of the International Fair for Ceramic Tile, Bathroom Furnishings and Natural Stone is due to take place from 28^th January to 1^st February 2019 at Feria Valencia and currently, seven months ahead of opening day, 90% of the space available to exhibitors has already been booked.

The show’s strongest section, ceramic tiles, has already outperformed the figures for Cevisama 2018 and, as of today, the sales figures have almost hit the target set for 2019 in the ambitious budget approved by the fair’s organizing committee at their most recent meeting.

As to the frits, glazes and colours sector, 88% of the space expected to be booked has already been taken, whilst the bathroom furnishings sector, which traditionally starts confirming bookings in the latter part of the year, has already booked more than 70% of the space allocated to it.

Compared with the same date in 2016, which was a comparable year because the ceramic tile making machinery sector only takes part in alternate years, the figures are much better in terms of both exhibitors as a whole and foreign exhibitors in particular: more than twice as much space has been booked by foreign companies for Cevisama 2019 than had been by 5^th July 2016 for Cevisama 2017. The recovery of the Spanish market and Cevisama’s improved international positioning are clearly key to the increasing interest in exhibiting at Spain’s leading fair shown by exhibitors from other countries, especially from Europe and mostly from Italy.

Cevisama president Manuel Rubert has highlighted “the excellent sales figures” and is very optimistic regarding this next edition. “We are going to beat the record in terms of the exhibition space we sell and the number of professionals who come to visit, which is where we need to make the most effort,” he claimed. The fair has, Rubert explained, increased the budget it dedicates to sales and marketing initiatives designed to attract major distributors and specifiers – architects, interior designers and property developers – from Spain and the core overseas markets, the main focus being on the traditional European markets and the United States.

Cevisama’s director, Carmen Álvarez, has underscored the effort being invested in making the contract sector a bigger part of the fair. “We will soon be publishing a spectacular programme for our Architecture Forum that will, yet again, feature eminent professionals, including winners of the Pritzker Prize for architecture,” notes the director, whilst also highlighting that the fair is annexing a new pavilion at Feria Valencia, pavilion 6. Located very close to the Architecture Forum, with its own access from outside the venue via the North Forum, pavilion 6 will be used to house ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings manufacturers that specialize in this area or would like to develop this line of business.