Cevisama’s time as an independent trade fair comes to an end

From September 2026, the show will be replaced by Cevisama Contract, a section of Valencia’s furniture fair Habitat.

After more than 40 years, Cevisama will cease to operate as an independent international exhibition for ceramic tiles and bathroom furnishings, bringing to an end its longstanding role as the Spanish industry’s flagship event held each February in Valencia.

The announcement was made on 5 June by Feria Valencia, which confirmed that Cevisama will no longer be held as a standalone exhibition in February 2026. Instead, under the revived Cevisama Contract brand, it will be incorporated into Habitat, the furniture fair held in Valencia in September alongside Textilhogar (home textiles) and Espacio Cocina (kitchen furniture).

The decision was undoubtedly a difficult one for Feria Valencia, which, having acknowledged that Cevisama is no longer viable as an independent event, is at least attempting to bolster its interior design exhibition offering. It aims to do this by adding the sectors traditionally represented by Cevisama Contract, namely bathroom products and accessories, ceramics, natural stone and other surface coverings, to the sectors already represented at Habitat, Textilhogar and Espacio Cocina.

Cevisama’s difficulties date back to 2022

Although the news caused a stir in the Castellón ceramic district, Feria Valencia’s decision was not entirely unexpected given Cevisama’s steady decline over the past 3-4 years. The gradual withdrawal of exhibitors who were more inclined to invest in private events held in their showrooms in Castellón (Pamesa’s exit in 2022 was followed by that of many ceramic producers and, as of 2023, the complete exit of frit and glaze manufacturers) culminated in a disappointing 2025 edition. This year’s show saw just four partially filled halls, around forty Spanish ceramic exhibitors and 59,695 visitors, a 15% drop compared to 2024 and well below the more than 90,000 who attended the last pre-Covid editions. With further withdrawals expected, the 2026 edition would have fared even worse. In this context, Feria Valencia’s decision to bring Cevisama to a close was both inevitable and understandable, or as ASCER Director Alberto Echavarría put it on LinkedIn, “an honest decision, given the impossibility of guaranteeing a successful or at least profitable event for the remaining exhibitors”.

What next?

It is clear that Cevisama Contract, aimed more at architects than distributors, cannot provide a suitable platform for the entire Spanish ceramic industry. At these kinds of international events, the presence of ceramic products is typically limited to a few companies and specialised, high-value materials tailored to the often personalised needs of specifiers.

As Echavarría rightly points out, Cevisama Contract “may be of interest to certain Spanish ceramic producers – some of whom already exhibit at Habitat, particularly in the furniture slab segment – but it does not meet the needs of those who work with distributors and retailers” and generate significant sales volumes, especially in international markets. These companies will clearly focus their efforts on Cersaie in Bologna in September 2026.

Nonetheless, ASCER’s position remains clear. As Echavarría noted:

“Even at its least successful edition [editor’s note: 2025], Cevisama attracted 60,000 visitors, including almost 15,000 international attendees. The majority of our member companies still believe it is important to have a national trade fair to support the Tile of Spain brand. As an association, we will continue to work to ensure that an event of this kind can exist.”