The European waterpark industry’s innovation award will be presented for the 24th time in 2026.
“Connecting excellence – inspiring innovation” – under this motto, the European Waterpark Association e.V., the association of European leisure pools and spas, has been promoting innovation in the leisure pool and spa sector for 24 years through the annual presentation of awards for outstanding projects in service design and marketing. For the past two years, alongside the “EWA Professional Award” and the “EWA Marketing Award”, there has also been an “EWA Sustainability Award” for sustainability and social responsibility in the operation of leisure pools and thermal spas.
This year, the EWA Awards will be presented on 27 April 2026 as part of the 10th International Congress “Future Prospects for the European Water Park Landscape” at the MEWA Football Arena in Mainz.
The finalists and winners were announced yesterday. The EWA Professional Award 2026 for innovative service design goes to OLantis in Oldenburg. OLantis is being honoured for the redesign of its SaunaWorld under the theme “City, Country, River”. As part of the strategic concept for Oldenburg’s swimming pools, a high-quality redevelopment of the approximately 5,000-square-metre OLantis Sauna World was approved and implemented over a one-year construction period from June 2023 to June 2024. The expert jury was particularly impressed by how a previously eclectic mix of styles and themes characterising the sauna landscape had been transformed into a cohesively themed experience zone that establishes regional connections under the headings of city, countryside and river. No less impressive is the success of the initiative: The visitor target of 130,000 guests per year, originally considered very ambitious, was already achieved in the first year following the implementation of the concept, representing a 33% increase compared to 2024, which was already a record year. Turnover in the SaunaWorld even increased by around 49% in 2025, almost doubling. Completion of a further construction phase is now planned for summer 2026, during which a plunge pool and a hot water pool are to be built in the sauna garden. A third construction phase will see the creation of a treetop sauna and a relaxation room.
Also recognised as finalists in the ‘Innovative Service Design’ category are the Spa Resort Geinberg in Austria for the redesign of the SPAplus area, and the Therme Laa an der Thaya, also in Austria, for the new Silent Villas as an exclusive addition to its ‘Silent Spa’.
AGGUA in Troisdorf is delighted to have won the EWA Marketing Award 2026.
The jury deemed the AGGUA BEATS Festival, which took place for the first time in September 2025, worthy of the award. Under the motto “a pool becomes a stage and the town becomes the audience”, an open-air festival was organised in the AGGUA outdoor pool area in collaboration with the local carnival society, paying tribute to the region’s festive culture. Well-known carnival bands such as the “Klingelköpp” created a lively atmosphere for 900 guests. “For the first time, the outdoor pool was perceived as a social meeting place and cultural
venue, and not exclusively as a place for swimming,” say the organisers, describing the intention behind the event. A follow-up event under the title “ART meets WAVE” is already planned for 2026.
Two finalists are also being honoured in the Marketing category: Rulantica Water World at Europapark Rust is being recognised for the “Nordic Festival of Lights”, and Therme Wien for a campaign for “World Gift Day” 2025.
Leisure pools and thermal spas are important venues for social interaction and health-oriented leisure activities, and hold significant social relevance. To reflect this at the EWA Awards, the EWA Sustainability Award was launched in 2024 to recognise sustainable pool management. This category honours leisure pools and thermal spas that have made a special contribution to social interaction and improving their energy and carbon footprint. This year, the EWA Sustainability Award goes to two member establishments of the European Waterpark Association. The Austrian Spa Resort Geinberg is being honoured for its successes in optimising bathing water technology. As part of the ‘Green Geinberg’ initiative to improve the thermal spa’s energy and carbon footprint, a comprehensive package of measures was implemented between 2023 and 2025. The results are impressive: by improving process controls, whilst complying with strict Austrian hygiene standards, 22 million litres of fresh and thermal water and 350,000 kWh of electricity are saved annually, and chemical consumption has been reduced by 12%.
The second EWA Sustainability Award goes to aquaferrum in Friesoythe. The leisure pool initiated the Germany-wide #initiativeAugenblick campaign, in which over 200 swimming pool operators are now participating. The aim of the awareness campaign is to make parents and carers of children aware of their responsibility for their safety. All too often, according to the campaign’s initiators, parents are distracted by mobile phone use and similar activities, thereby failing to fulfil their duty of supervision.
The winners were selected by a jury of experts from the swimming pool and leisure industry. The jury comprised Petra Probst (Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of the trade journal Euro Amusement Professional), Sonja Redies (Profund Consult and deputy spokesperson for the Advisory Board of Supporting Members at the EWA), Dr Michael Quell (Honorary President of the EWA) and Prof. Dr Torsten Widmann (Head of the Leisure Management programme at Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University).
The outstanding contributions – in both senses of the word – from the finalists and winners at the 24th EWA Awards confirm the European Waterpark Association’s commitment to its own work: “Connecting excellence – inspiring innovation”. The bar has been set high for the anniversary edition in 2027!
Foto: Thomas Weber
