Gold Coast International Boat Show eclipses all previous records
by Gold Coast International Boat Show on 21 Mar 2017
The Gold Coast International Boat Show is held right in the heart of Australia's boating industry capital at Coomera Gold Coast Marine Expo
www.gcmarineexpo.com.au
Boating enthusiasts have turned out in record numbers for Queensland’s biggest boat show and the significant economic benefits from the show’s record sales are now set to energise the marine industry for many weeks, months and years.
Over 23,000 visitors from around Australia and the world streamed through the Gold Coast International Boat Show’s welcome gates for a massive $150 million showcase this year staged for the first time over three days in March.
Event and Marketing Manager Emma Brown said thousands of boating families were genuinely excited to ‘see it all first’ at the Gold Coast boat show created specifically for families who just love the boating life.
“The majority of our visitors are experienced boaters but there were also many families who are completely new to boating who were able to experience everything from free sailing and waterskiing lessons to fishing demonstrations, boat-building factory tours and even no-obligation sea trials with The Mercury Edge,” she said.
“It’s very gratifying to play a part in helping those families to experience and enjoy all the rewards of the boating life.”
Mrs Brown said confirmed sales as a direct result of Australia’s first major boat show of the year are extremely strong and will tally well into the tens of millions of dollars.
“From everything we’ve heard from exhibitors today we know those direct sales from the show will surpass everything we’ve done before,” she said.
“We’ve absolutely eclipsed all our previous records – visitor numbers, sales at the show, the number of boats on display, exhibitor numbers and our massive Fleet of Firsts for product and boat premieres.
“Our new marina link was another significant step forward. Everyone just loved the way it opened up the entire waterfront along the Coomera River.
“In so many respects, 2017 really has been a turning point for our boat show and for our marine industry – it’s fantastic.”
Mrs Brown said the Gold Coast boat show’s record 230 exhibitors on the water and on land all reported strong sales results.
“Friday and Saturday were both significantly up on last year’s visitation, even Sunday with its showers and late storm eclipsed last year’s attendance,” she said.
“The overall show visitation number was up 18 per cent and that is very rewarding given this year we packaged the boat show into three days from four in response to exhibitor feedback.”
“We already have a significant number of new exhibitors who want to be here next year, and many existing exhibitors have expressed their desire to take even more space.
“The 2018 Gold Coast International Boat Show will be massive.”
The show’s 2017 exhibitors are now busily following up and finalising even further sales from the quality levels of enquiry across the board.
“Our exhibitors are buoyed by the support of the boating community and they are now actively converting leads generated at the show into confirmed sales,” said Mrs Brown.
“Most exhibitors are honouring their boat show specials until the end of this week to help get families out on the water having fun in time for Easter.”
Gold Coast International Boat Show provides a strong return on investment for exhibitors
Aqualuma LED Lighting
Grant Amor from Aqualuma LED lighting said the Gold Coast International Boat Show on its new dates in March was far stronger than even he expected.
“We came to the show to support the new dates and to support the industry,” he said.
“I was genuinely surprised at the strength of the show – I spoke with more boating people over the weekend than I spoke with at Miami International Boat Show in Florida.
“It was a very pleasing result and we will definitely be back next year.”
AMT Marine
Andy Taylor from AMT Marine said there was significant interest in the Whitehaven 6000 Coupe which was displayed at the Coomera show for the first time.
“This particular boat was sold prior to the show but we have some excellent qualified leads to follow up,” he said.
“It’s gone so well that next year we will be back here with more boats.”
Great Southern Marine
Todd Holzapfel from Great Southern Marine said the quality of enquiries on the Grand Banks on display was very encouraging.
“To be honest, in the luxury market it’s rare to conclude a sale at any boat show but it’s all about generating the leads and then following up with sea trials,” he said.
“We are very pleased with how it’s gone for us.”
Pacific Blue Cruise Cat
James Keay from Pacific Blue Cruise Cat also said the strong level of enquiry from qualified boating people was very encouraging.
“Everything went really well and we were really lucky with the weather.
“You can feel from that show that the marine industry has turned in the right direction.”
The Multihull Group
Rowan McMahon from The Multihull Group said over 600 people stepped aboard the Lagoon 450S throughout the three days.
“The show was great,” he said. “We had some solid people come through and we will be making some sales in the very near future, some in the not-too-distant future and some even further down the track.”
Queensland Marine Centre
Andrew Bennett said Queensland Marine Centre had sold boats across both the Boston Whaler and Sea Ray ranges.
“It was very positive – the people we spoke with were well qualified as boat buyers which was great because obviously we are at the higher end of the market,” he said.
“We returned to the Coomera show this year and we are very happy with the result and the return on investment.”
Riviera Australia
Riviera chairman and owner Rodney Longhurst said it was exciting to be a part of a boat show where the marine industry works together to deliver Queensland’s biggest boat show.
“For us at Riviera, it’s a wonderful opportunity to bring the Riviera Family together for a fantastic weekend of boating education, inspiration and celebration,” he said.
“Considering the uncertainty of the weather, we are very happy and it was a successful show with a very strong result,” he said.
Ensign Yacht Brokers
Jason Chipp from Ensign Yacht Brokers partnered with Whitsunday Escape and said the show will translate into sea trials, sales and boat charters.
“There was a lot more people than we expected and our enquiries were really good quality,” he said.
“Sales at the upper end of the yacht market really take over a month to finalise as we sort out the deals and trades, but we will see some results which is great.”
Yachtshare
Anton Prange from Yachtshare said there has been great interest in the two syndicated cruising catamarans he had brought to the show.
“For us, this boat show is really about showing people how boating will enhance their lifestyle. We will now be following up on all our leads with sea trials over the next few weeks.
“Sometimes it can take several years for a customer to be ready to make a purchase, for instance we signed one client from the contact we made at this show two years ago, and that came within the first two hours of the show.”
Stefan Boating World
Stefan Ackerie said Stefan Boating World sold over $1 million in boats at the show and at his massive showroom, which is also located within the Gold Coast Marine Precinct at Coomera.
“We are very, very pleased with the result,” he said. “At the show, the buyers were simply captivated by the designs and then over at the showroom, we sold several bigger boats.
“Moving the boat show date to March was very smart – it’s worked really well and the event has now certainly hit the big time.”
Clipper Motor Yachts and Cobalt of Australia
Brett Thurley from Clipper Motor Yachts reported very strong interest in his $15 million line-up of Clipper and Marlow motor yachts and this should translate to two or even three purchases in the next few weeks.
“Our new Cobalt showroom was very popular and we are looking forward to helping families enjoy these premium cruisers and water sports boats.”
Sirocco Marine North
Dylan Lopez from Sirocco Marine North reported very strong sales of his range of inflatable tenders from 2.2m to 7.8m.
“Things have gone so well that we will take a lot more space next year – we’ve made sales to existing customers and new customers, and the business-to-business networking has been incredible too.
“The new dates in March have certainly worked and they have drawn a lot of people from interstate here to the Gold Coast for the first Australian boat show of the year.”
Mercury Marine
The Mercury Edge was again a massive hit with both existing boaters and those who simply wished to experience boating with their families, with over 660 sea trials conducted across the three days.
“The number of trials each day this year was up 15 per cent per day on last year, even with the showers on Sunday,” said marketing manager Anthony Brown.
“Mercury had 11 dealers at this boat show so the opportunity to support them, take people out on the water and show just what Mercury outboards can do has worked really, really well.
“This year, and for the first time, we had a Mercruiser available for trials and there’s been a great deal of interest there.
“The engines really sell themselves once people see how quiet, fuel efficient and powerful they are.”
Surf Coast Marine and Broadwater Boating Centre
Paul Banning from Surf Coast Marine said there had been very strong enquiry across the Quintrex range, and also Cruise Craft from Broadwater Boating Centre.
“The good thing is we have very strong leads to follow up and many of those people will be able to be on the water in time for Easter,” he said.
“This year we qualified people for the Quintrex Island and we conducted over 100 sea trials with very good prospects throughout the show – people were very impressed with the way our boats handle on the water.”
Voyager Catamarans
Derek Appleton from Voyager Catamarans said there was strong enquiry.
“Boat shows are great for people to come and see and feel and touch the boats and many of our clients are 12 months in the making,” he said. “Some of the orders we are taking now are from our display last year.”
Australian Marine Wholesale
Errol Cain from Australian Marine Wholesale made a late decision to come on board as a 2017 boat show exhibitor after opening a brand-new showroom at The Boat Works just a few days prior.
“I’m so glad I did come to the boat show because there were so many qualified boating people there. Some are previous customers and many are new customers,” he said.
“The show has generated refit work for luxury motor yachts that we may not otherwise have received and there’s also been fantastic interest in our new Raymarine thermal imaging cameras – we sold four at the show and we are now preparing quotes and acceptances on other work that will keep us busy for the next few months.”
Australian Davits and Cranes
John Berg from Australian Davits and Cranes said his strongest results came from luxury motor yacht owners.
“Our hydraulic swim platforms and our new Rotary system received a lot of interest – we’ve spent the best part of five years showcasing our products and people are starting to realise just how good they are and that they can do the job that they expect.”
Pro Fender
Ross Cooney from Pro Fender said the boat show was exceptional for his business.
“Most definitely the buyers were qualified and the sales to real boaters were awesome,” he said.
“We also have about 50 strong leads to follow up in the next few weeks so we thoroughly found it worthwhile.”
KLM Marine Electrics
John McDonald from KLM Marine Electrics said it was the best boat show he had ever been to.
“The result really was unprecedented for us,” he said. “We sold several Cummins Onan generators at the show – one to a new client from Sydney who came here to ‘see it all first’. In fact he also needed a water-maker and we were able to point him in the right direction there too.
“To be realistic, people research and carefully consider their decisions when they are spending thousands of dollars on their boats and there were not too many tyre-kickers at this show. In fact Muir Anchors & Winches told me the ratio was about 10:1 – 10 real boaters to one enquiry who came along simply to find out more about boating.”
International Paint and AWL Grip
Kasey McAllen from International Paint and AWL Grip said the strong results for the global boating brand and boat show founding partner were even better than expected.
“Our enquiries were genuine in every respect,” he said. “It was a great show for us.”
Whitewater Marine
Clint White from Whitewater marine sold over $200,000 worth of new boats at the show, and had scheduled five water tests throughout this week.
“The date change has certainly made a difference,” he said. “We’ve always had a great result from this boat show and it’s fair to say we are very happy this year.”
Boating and RV
Aaron Hunt from Boating and RV said sales were up significantly.
“We’ve seen a great result now the boat show is in March - it’s really quite impressive.”
C Worthy Marine
Cameron Ward from C Worthy Marine reported an excellent result from the show in terms of both sales and leads.
“We sold a boat early on Friday which was great and Saturday was just massive … we didn’t even stop for lunch.
“The new dates have worked very well and we’re looking forward to our water tests over the next few weeks.”
Mastercraft
Ronnie Arenson from Mastercraft was also buoyed by the results of the boat show, despite intermittent showers and Sunday’s downpour.
“We are really happy,” he said. “It was very positive and the quality of enquiries was great too – we had the right people asking the right kind of questions.”
Altex Yacht and Boat Paint
Steve Christie said Altex Yacht and Boat Paint had their best boat show result for three years.
“We’re here supporting our dealers who now making a real impact in the DIY market with our new products,” he said.
“There’s a lot of real boating people here, which is terrific.”
Positive economic benefits of the boat show continue to flow
Mrs Brown said the Gold Coast International Boat Show operates as a not-for-profit event, with no government funding, and helps raise funds for local, worthwhile charity organisations.
“There’s also the significant economic flow-on for the Gold Coast and for Queensland – in fact for Australia,” she said.
“Visitors have come here from interstate and internationally specifically for our boat show and while they are here they spend money on accommodation, dining and on having fun.”
The benefits also extend to marine industry jobs at Australia’s boating industry capital: the Gold Coast Marine Precinct at Coomera.
“The marine industry professionals who attended our show – this year supported by the Boating Industry Association – are the best in the boating business and it’s so rewarding to be able to play a role in their growth,” she said.
Howard Glenn, national CEO of the Boating Industry Association – this year a delivery partner of the Gold Coast boat show – said the “industry legends” that created and supported the show should be very proud of its success.
“It’s a fantastic story of co-operation,” he said.
“Many of these marine industry leaders are in competition with each other but they put that aside for the greater good of our industry and for the benefit of the 30,000 people who work in the Australian marine industry.
“That truly is an inspiration.”
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