2015 Grand Pavois La Rochelle – 82,000 visitors over five days

by Veronique Largeau - GPO on 23 Sep 2015 The 2015 edition of the Grand Pavois La Rochelle, organised by the association Grand Pavois Organisation was a great hit as much for the many new products on show (More than 100 new boats exhibited out of the 750 present) as for the number of highlights which marked this year's event and the overall atmosphere.

82,000 visitors made their way around the pontoons this year (Namely 10,000 less than last year), bearing in mind that the Atlantic show had to postpone its opening by one day owing to the very poor weather conditions. Indeed, on Wednesday 16 September, heavy rain and violent winds of up to 40 knots, with gusts of up to 50 knots (La Rochelle marina's harbour master's office registered a gust of 48.6 knots) were forced to delay the opening until Thursday. One day less for the show, also aggravated by a large demonstration by local government officers on Friday morning which, initially, blocked traffic to the show and then blocked access to the main entrance.

Targets reached!
The presence of 800 international brands confirms the fact: the Grand Pavois La Rochelle confirms that it is a true business show. Sales, many estimates, many post-show appointments taken: the Grand Pavois is still very much in the Top Five international in-water events and confirms that it has become essential for enthusiasts as well as for professionals, who see in the event commercial prospects for the coming year. This edition of the Grand Pavois La Rochelle appears to have been of satisfaction to many professionals and several brands which were asked declared that they had achieved the goal they had set prior to the show. A positive sign for the end of 2015 and the start of 2016!

Note the dates for 2016: from 28 September to 3 October.

Alain Pochon (President of Grand Pavois Organisation): 'Le Grand Pavois La Rochelle continues to be a major show for business. This year's event was marked, from the outset, by a delayed opening as a result of the poor weather conditions. We were unable to open and organise the circulation of visitors on the site on Wednesday 16 September. We then experienced a large demonstration by local governmental officials, which blocked access to the site on Friday morning. We can say that we lost a day and a half of the 2015 event. However, it should be noted that all of this did not disrupt our exhibitors appointments and visits to the show too much, because many professionals told me that they reached and even exceeded their targets. We are pleased to hear this because it confirms that the Atlantic show is a key day for our profession. Boats were sold, but it is important to remain cautious. However, it would appear that there are signs of recovery. Although we are reassured about this year's event, we already have much work to do in order to develop and improve our show. The directions are clear: to develop even further our visitor quality and attract more overseas visitors, attract all the multihull boatyards, work on the services provided for exhibitors and maintain our value for money, which remains one of the best in the world in the French and international offering of shows. On the subject of our 2016 dates, the Grand Pavois Organisation's Board of Directors has officially approved the dates of Wednesday 28 September to Monday 3 October 2016 in order not to compete with Cannes Yachting Festival which will be held from 6 to 11 September, and for reasons related to water heights in La Rochelle marina. Finally, this choice also allows us to offer different dates from the Southampton Boat Show in England, which will be held from 16 to 25 September 2016. An opportunity, which we intend to seize in order to be able to welcome more Northern European boatyards and attract more overseas visitors'.

The Grand Pavois La Rochelle 2015 in figures:

Six days of exhibition,
100,000 visitors expected
800 international brands
Between 200 and 300 international journalists
100,000 m2 of exhibition space and three km of pontoons
750 boat, including 300 in-water,
Thematic spaces: A guest country, La Plage, Heritage and Tradition Space, Fishing Space and Grand Pavois Fishing, Unusual Boats Space, etc.