Boot 2015 – Worlds largest boat show shows optimism

by Dan Ibsen on 21 Jan 2015 The leading international boating and water sports event, Boot Düsseldorf takes place from 17th to 25th January. The first weekend 80,000people visited the boat show.

While many European markets are still navigating through troubled waters, boot Düsseldorf has become firmly established as the most important boat show and one of the driving ecomomic forces of not only the European boating industry, but also very important at a world scale.

1741 exhibitors from 57 countries presents themselves in 17 exhibition halls, featuring premieres of boats and new equipment for all disciplines in water sports, from fishing, diving and surfing to sailboats and motorboats, to superyacht. There are some 1.700 boats ‘moored at the big harbour’ at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre.

There is a peak in the number of exhibitors as well as an increase in the exhibition space. The Messe Düsseldorf President and CEO Werner Matthias Dornscheidt says:

'What gives us wind in our sails is above all the boat industry. For export-focused manufacturers of boats and yachts there is no alternative to Düsseldorf, which is situated at the very center of this European Region with a great economic and purchasing power.'

Once again this year the exhibitors in Düsseldorf are bringing a wealth of innovative products and boating ideas to the boat show. Companies have announced over 100 premieres of boats and yachts, 22 world premieres.

There are 885 international exhibitors among the 1741 exhibitors and this represents a global brand diversity in all various segments.

The country with the largest number of international exhibitors is the Netherlands, followed by Italy, France and UK.

This is not only larger boats and yachts, but a huge variety of smaller boats, including racing dinghies. Further there are scuba-diving, windsurfing and kiteboarding.

Water tourism is also a growing part of the show as the maritime travel market is an expanding market in many parts of the world.

Many of the larger sailing boats are Cruiser/Racers which are swift cruising yachts with regatta ambitions. They are popular with all those who enjoy sailing that little bit faster than others. Among those is to be mentioned for example Xc50, Dehler 46 and Solaris 50.

Among the cruising yachts has a new Easy 9,7 as an attractive smaller boat, the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349 is distinguished by its straight line, generous interior and good cockpit and the Hanse 455 is a quite powerful and athletic cruising boat.

Multihulls are also en expanding market. The brand new small and fast Dragon Fly 25 can be folded together from 5.8 to 2.3 meters, and does not take up much space in a port. Unfolded it is easy to sail singlehanded and provides space for up to five. In the larger segment Bavaria is presenting a new sailing catamaran Nautitech Open 40 which is available in both three and four cabin versions.

In the boat engine segment there is an increasing focus on sustainability with electric and hybrid engines, which now have become more powerful and now also are viable alternatives to conventional boat engines.

Boot Düsseldorf has also created an initiative entitled Working together for Better Water Protection in collaboration with water sports associations and the plastic industry. All water sports enthusiasts have a vital interest in clean waters. In the future there is a need for all sailors, and thereby also the industry to be conscious about how we use the lakes, rivers, sea and oceans. This initiative is interesting and should spread to the whole world among sailors and the maritime industry.

The maritime market is still far from the level in 2007 and 2008, but there is a positive trend and rise in all segments of the market.