| USA. Super Boat Expo 2006 cancelled; organisers blame poor results for other shows |
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| Monday, 27 February 2006 | |
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Boat show news: Today marks the five week mark before the doors were to open at Super Boat Expo and we’re sorry to tell you that we’re simply not going to be able to put the show on. A number of boat shows (far more than we had envisioned) in the Tampa Bay/Suncoast area have reported disappointing results. As a matter of fact, only the Miami Show, which closed last Monday, may have had positive sales fallout. In the meantime, while we had enough promises of “we’ll be there” and “high interest” to fill the Convention Center, we had very few contracts and deposits in the boat area. The booth spaces, on the other hand, did well, but we couldn’t put a high-performance boat show on with promises from the boat companies and dealers. It wouldn’t have been fair to those exhibitors who did come and it certainly would not have been fair to the public who came looking to see the boats. Thus, we’re sending back 100 percent of all the deposits received with thanks to those who had confidence in a high-performance show. There are no deductions for overhead, only apologies for not being able to make it go. The staff of Super Boat Expo is composed of industry veterans. We looked at this project as a new totally vertical show where the manufacturers would be deeply involved. The boatbuilders, for the most part, felt the local dealerships should make the decisions and the space investment. However, many dealers have not had a great year—indeed, some haven’t recovered from the hurricane fallout of the past couple of years. For the moment, we’re taking stock of what we’ve learned in the past six months. We’ll return in the future, much better prepared to put on a show that totally works from everyone’s financial and aesthetic point of view. Warmest regards, Bob Black, Tom Casey and the staff of Super Boat Expo 2006 |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 27 February 2006 ) |
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