| UK. Estimated 118 thousand visitors to successful Southampton Boat Show |
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| Monday, 25 September 2006 | |
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Boat Show news: The 38th Southampton Boat Show in association with ITV Meridian closes its doors after a successful ten days at Southampton’s Mayflower Park. In total an estimated 118,000* visitors came to the Show which this year had a new treasure island theme. Booming business Early reports are that it’s been a great Show for exhibitors with many companies reporting very good sales figures, a clear indication that the Show and boating and watersports continue to appeal. “A very good show, better than last year. We’ve been delighted with the launch of our Dolphin Twister, which has been successful with the visitors, generating 25 customers for test sales. It’s our second year exhibiting and we’ll definitely be back next year!” Bill Bray, MD of Dolphin Boats “We’ve been exhibitors for seven years and this has been the busiest show we’ve ever had, selling approximately 88 trailers and 34 boats.” Dennis Boon, MD of UK Watersports “This year has been busier than the 2004 show. Having exhibited in Windward Hall for the past 15 years we enjoyed the change of our outside location where we have seen our sales increase by 20% compared to last year. We’ll definitely be returning.” Erick Beattie, Retail Group Manager from Nauticalia “The best boat show for Quayside ever. We’re 25% up on sales compared to 2005 and have had a real market presence; it’s exciting to see how many people walk around wearing our shoes! We launched our 2007 range here at Southampton, with a much wider offering, and we’ve been encouraging all our retailers to book space for 2007. We’re looking forward to having a big presence at London in January.” Martyn Dury, Quayside “It’s been an exceptional show for Elan Power with sales up 85% on last year.” Charles Crocker, Director of Elan Yachts “We’ve had an extremely good show with sales well on par to last year. Once all leads have been followed up I’m sure we will be well above last year’s business.” Robert Braithwaite, Managing Director of Sunseeker “As usual, the Show has exceeded our expectations. We are 45-55% ahead of last year on revenue and so are extremely pleased with the results.” Jonathon Bunn, Director of Hydropool Spas, following their announcement during the Show that they had signed as the official sponsors of the Marina again for a further three years. “An absolutely blistering Show exceeding all expectations. A combination of a new stand, a new location and three new ranges of products on offer have greatly increased the level of interest. Our sales over the 10 days have exceeded 150, which is 200% up on 2005.” John Hornsby, Director of Williams Performance Tenders “It’s been a very good Show, as good as London, with good quality of visitors. The Show was paid for after just four days. It’s our first year at the Show and we’ll definitely be back next year.” Jayson Kenny, Director, Aquarius Marine Coatings “It has been an extraordinary Show for us; we’ve broken all records! Yesterday alone we sold 19 boats (which is one every 28 mins) and by the end of the Show we’ll have reached a total in the region of 50-60.” Bryan Jones, Marketing Manager, Fairline “We’ve been very busy with constant enquiries throughout the Show which is key to the launch of our new Sant Carles Marina. Our target before the Show was 50 reservations but we’re delighted to announce that we’ve achieved over 300.” Jon Eads, Marina Developments Ltd “We’re very happy and have had a good Show. We’re well over target having achieved 25 sales this year compared to seven in 2005.” Paul Cochrane, Manager of Rotostay “Up on sales at the Show, especially tender boat packages, with lots of enquiries to follow up. Our demonstrations have been almost non-stop with deposits taken on every package. The interactive features on our stand have appealed to the younger visitors and as a result we feel that more families have gone away from the Show with dinghies. Also delighted to report that our Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship has had another successful year with a good finale on Saturday.” Phil Haynes, National Sales Manager of Honda UK “Outstandingly busy with approximately 15% of the gate coming to our stand. The feedback about the stand and the experience from the visitors has been positive from sampling through to relaxing at the bar.” John Doherty, Event Manager for Tanqueray ‘Bartenders Choice’ A word from the organisers Commenting on this year’s Southampton Boat Show, NBS Interim Managing Director Chris Dalley said: “This year’s Show has been a great success and we’ve already had lots of positive feedback from both visitors and exhibitors. It’s clear that a significant amount of business has been carried out which is a really positive sign for the industry.” “As well as buying all their latest boating gear, we’re pleased that our visitors have enjoyed the whole Show experience. Again the Beach has proved extremely popular, more people than ever have got out onto the water, children and adults alike have loved the strong theme including the pirate and Punch and Judy shows and the extensive entertainment programme, and we certainly saw a number of grown-ups relaxing on the deck chairs after a long day! “Our feature boats, including the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s Lord Nelson and Tenacious, Hugo Boss, Song of the Whale and Ben Fogle’s Atlantic Rowing Boat impressed thousands of visitors as they explored, marvelled and were inspired by the different boats on display.” Celebrity faces The Show got off to a spectacular start with Ben Fogle officially opening the Show alongside sailing celebrities Dee Caffari and Alex Thomson. The trio were joined onboard Lord Nelson by local dignitaries. Jean-Christophe Novelli wowed diners with his culinary delights in his specially constructed restaurant ‘A Touch of Novelli’. Other faces spotted around the Show include Alan Titchmarsh, Sol Campbell, Michael Buerk, Peter Snow and Steve McFadden. The final Saturday of the show saw local girl Fiona Jordan crowned as the 2006 Miss Southampton Boat Show. Her predecessor Sophie Diamond awarded her her title after an afternoon of action packed activities culminating in a fashion show on the beach. Dedicated days This year’s Show had a number of new additions. One particular highlight was the creation of the first ever Careers, Education and Skills Day which saw over a thousand school children from across Hampshire and neighbouring counties visiting the Show. Children and teachers used the day to learn more about the industry, explore apprenticeship and careers options, as well as using the experience to support their national curriculum studies. The Show was also the official venue for ‘Talk Like A Pirate Day’. Building on the new treasure island theme, the day was celebrated with interactive shows on the Pirate Jetty stage, pirate performers entertaining visitors around the Show, and many visitors and exhibitors were spotted sporting the Jubilee Sailing Trust’s charity eye-patch. The Show also had a special visit from the UK organiser of the Day, Mad Cap’n Tom. Economic impact The Southampton Boat Show is one of the city’s busiest periods, with an influx of visitors from all over the UK and abroad. To quantify this effect the Southampton City Council is conducting a formal survey to assess the economic benefit of the Show to the local area. It is expected to reveal that the annual Show has a multi-million pound impact on the City. The results are due to be published in November. Until next year….. Next year’s Southampton Boat Show runs from 14-23 September 2007. Meanwhile the industry is preparing itself for the new-look London Boat Show which will take place at ExCeL, London from 5-14 January 2007 |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 25 September 2006 ) |
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