Standing Ovations for the Winners of the EWA Awards

(eap) This year’s winners of the “EWA Awards” were honored at a festive dinner held by the European Waterpark Association (EWA) in the New Flora Cologne during the aquanale trade fair last week. As the quality association of European leisure pools and spas, the EWA has been awarding prizes for exceptionally innovative product and marketing concepts for 21 years now.  

This year, the “EWA Professional Award” was given to the Badegärten Eibenstock in Saxony. There, over a period of eleven years, a Russian sauna village had been created around a natural bathing lake, the highlight of which – a large Boyar House – was opened in 2022. Hendrik Pötter, who was the managing director of Badegärten Eibenstock for more than 25 years and initiator behind the extraordinary sauna facilities in the bathing gardens, and his successor Roberto Fricker, who has been managing the facility since last year, accepted the honor. Standing ovations and an emotional thank-you speech by Hendrik Pötter created a very special moment in the festive hall of the Flora. (Photo f.l.t.r.: Dr. Michael Quell and Sonja Redies as representatives of the jury, Roberto Fricker and Hendrik Pötter as well as EWA Vice Presidents Jutta Kleiber and Oliver Sternagel)

The “EWA Marketing Award” went to Therme Wien, part of Vamed Vitality World, which repeatedly draws attention to itself with creative marketing campaigns. This time, the award-winning campaign was not aimed at guests but at employees – in order to counteract the shortage of labor, the spa launched a campaign on the topic of “employer branding” and “onboarding” (read also our report on employer branding in the latest EAP issue 6/23). Therme Wien, which has already won this prestigious award for the fourth time, also received much applause for its exceptional campaign. More detailed information on the award entries in our EAP News of 1st Sept 2023. (Photo f.l.t.r.: Dr. Michael Quell and Sonja Redies as representatives of the jury, Florian Perteneder and Dr. Edmund Friedl from Therme Wien as well as EWA Vice Presidents Jutta Kleiber and Oliver Sternagel). ■