Most boat shows have very little to do with yacht racing – however, as a barometer of the wider marine industry, they can be useful to help gain insight into consumer confidence.
The Tullet Prebon London Boat Show has reported that visitor numbers were down 6% on last year, despite multiple shows being combined together and London’s relatively milder weather. On the day we visited, hundreds of school children were being chaperoned around the show in the morning, but in the evening, the ‘Black & White’ bar was very busy.
It’s a shame that events like Brian Thompson talking about his experience as part of the record breaking round the world voyage on Banque Populaire were only watched by a handful of people.
A total of 134,753 visited ExCeL London across the 10 days, with 102,841 of those attending the Boat Show. In a bit of PR juggling, the show is happy to report that numbers are up on 2010 (102,655 Visitors – the lowest attendence since 2002).
Visitor numbers in the years preceding the Global Financial Crisis were between 130-150,000 people.
But visitor numbers isn’t the only measure of a successful show and exhibitors seemed pleased with trade over the 10 days. Sales made at the show are vital for exhibitors’ business plans for the year and the sector has shown resilience in the face of continuing economic turmoil.
Murray Ellis, Managing Director of NBS is pleased with the success of the Show:
“We have worked extremely hard to create a 10 day event that our exhibitors would be proud of and that meets visitors’ expectations. The response we have had from visitors is that we are continuing to deliver the ‘wow’ factor. We acknowledge that numbers are down which is a disappointment but we are pleased with the high quality of visitors and the reflective sales.
David Pougher, Chairman of National Boat Shows added:
“With 14 world launches and more than 45 boats being launched in total, the London Show has once again cemented itself as an important event in the international marine calendar. We welcomed 128 new companies to the Show, over 500 companies in total, who have taken advantage of the January timing to promote themselves and their products to a significant audience, which they would not have otherwise seen.”
Of course you don’t need to sell many super-yachts to have a good show. Exhibitors in the luxury side of Excel seemed pleased with the results.
“We are pleased with the Tullett Prebon London Boat Show. In terms of retail sales we are ahead of the same time last year. We’ll be back next year.” Fairline Boats
“The world is a difficult place currently but we are very pleased with our result in this environment and look forward to 2013.” Robert Braithwaite, Sunseeker International
“While we are under no illusion that we still face many challenges across our international markets, we are delighted that the positive progress we saw in sales at the PSP Southampton Boat Show has continued into London and it is an encouraging start to the New Year”. Chris Gates, Princess Yachts
But sailing also had some good news stories
“This is the best London Show for six years.” Paul Heyes, Key Yachting
“The arrival of The London Bike, Outdoors and Active Travel Show has brought loads of visitors to our stand, resulting in us smashing our targets for today.” Helen Waterhouse, RYA
The show was also used to make announcements like Henri Lloyd’s New Ben Ainslie GBR 3 Range.
