India’s first spa and swimming pool mag gets launched

Home swimming pools and hot tubs are no longer the territory of the rich and famous. The middle-class in India can now afford them too, according to the cover story of a newly launched magazine in India, Waves.

Home swimming pools and hot tubs are no longer the territory of the rich and famous. The middle-class in India, estimated at between 200 and 300 million, can now afford them too, according to the cover story of a newly launched magazine in India, Waves.

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India’s first magazine dedicated to the wet leisure industry will be launched at the end of July. Ray Sharma, vice president of Media One Group, which is launching the bi-monthly magazine in India in a joint venture with American B2B publisher Media One, says, “Whereas a pool used to cost more than Rs 10 lakh, and you would need to hire a pool builder, get permits, hire contractors, and lay down concrete, now you can get a pre-fabricated one for Rs 3 lakh and have it ready in a week with far less labour. You used to have to import tubs, but now you can pick a ready-made one up for Rs 1 lakh. The magazine is initially targetting architects, designers and builders, but we hope consumers will pick it up too,” he adds.

In Mumbai, many are placing Jacuzzis inside their flats, he says. But space crunch is always an issue in Mumbai. While the terrace is an option, the pool boom is happening more in the townships springing up outside Mumbai, in Lonavla and Lavasa.