Casa Pasarela consolidates its role as a european point of reference for home design at its third edition

This edition welcomed some 35,588 visitors, which represents an increase of 10% compared to last year.

The ideas presented by a number of important foreign companies have made the fair a leading forum for promotion and exchange, strengthening the link between industry and designers.

At its third edition, Casa Pasarela has consolidated its role as a leading point of reference in Europe for home design. In line with the growth-trend observed in previous years, the total number of visitors witnessed an increase of 10% compared to the year 2006, based on the attendance of some 35,588 people. The fair has also consolidated its status in terms of the quality of the products on show and the status of its exhibitors, given that the fair featured the participation of the leading world brands and the latest ideas from the most influential designers currently working within the sector.

With regard to the professional profile of the visitors according to sector of activity, we might highlight the strong attendance on the part of architects, who accounted for 15% of the overall number of visitors, as well as the attendance of decorators and designers, each accounting for 14% of the professionals present at the fair. Other represented fields included manufacturers, decoration shops and superstores.

This strong level of participation on the part of highly-qualified visitors rewards the considerable efforts that have been made by companies and designers, who have joined forces in order to offer the highest levels of quality and to meet the needs and demands of professionals. In this respect, the fair has become a key forum for business and a showcase for the latest developments that are destined to set the trend within the industry over the next few years.

With regard to the country of origin of the foreign visitors who attended Casa Pasarela, we might highlight the large group of professionals from Italy, accounting for 30% of the overall visitor figure, along with the group from Portugal, accounting for 25%, although we must also mention the visitors from Germany, the United States and Mexico, among other countries.

From within Spain itself, the regions that sent the largest numbers of visitors to the fair were Madrid, Valencia, Catalonia and Castile-Leon.

In terms of the sectors of greatest interest to the visitors within the fair exhibition as a whole, we might highlight the bathroom sector, which was the focal point of 15% of all visitors at the fair, followed by the kitchen and lighting sectors, which attracted 13% of the visitors and general furniture, which attracted 11%.

With regard to the attendance of the general public at CASA PASARELA on the weekend, we can once again highlight the growing popularity of cutting-edge ideas among consumers and their interest in discovering the latest trends at first hand. For the general public, the fair represented an ideal opportunity to see all the main brands together at a single venue, accompanied by their best products, thus enabling the public to view, compare and purchase products accordingly. The level of interest generated at this edition revealed the successful alliance that has been established between the fields of creation, distribution and industry, all based on the criterion of quality service. The coincident staging of the International Contemporary Art Fair, ARCO, also played an important role in this respect, given that the visitor profile at both events is very similar: consumers of a high cultural level and high purchasing power who are interested in art, culture and design.

The flow of visitors to the fair was enhanced by the attendance of companies and designers of world renown, featuring contributions by names as prestigious as the following: Jaime Hayón for B.D.; Tord Boontje for HansGrohe; El Último Grito for Casa Pasarela; the Gun Collection from Phillipe Starck for Flos; the "X" Bookshelf from Santachiara for Desalto; upholstery by Minotti for D.R.; Foster for Duravit; Shaping Space for Álape; the Alessi Collection for Roca; Axolute from Btcino and the presentation of the Istanbul Series from Lovegrove, exhibited by Artquitect. To these we might add the furniture items from the Poliform Series, presented by Gunni, the gym apparatus from Citterio exhibited by Technogym, Bang and Olufsen's televisions, and the spectacular exhibition of parquet floors from Listone Giordano, among many other features, not to mention the ideas from Andreu, Nueva Línea and the designers Diez+Diez and Stone Design. All of these exhibits made up an international exhibition of the highest order, thus consolidating the status of CASA PASARELA as one of the leading fairs of its kind in Europe.

With regard to the future, Casa Pasarela 2008 will entail a leap forward in terms of quality. However, above all it will be based on the latest new ideas of Spanish designers, channelled through the ABCDARIO initiative, which seeks to become the driving-force behind the professional and business innovation of Spanish industry. The next edition of the fair will also feature the ALUZZINA project and incorporate the section known as DESCAN+SA, which will be devoted to health-care within the home.