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Auckland Boat Show celebrates 25 year milestone with great success
Quality boats and innovations, serious buyers and strong industry optimism defined the 25th Auckland Boat Show, which wrapped up after four busy days at the Viaduct Events Centre and Jellicoe Harbour. With 235 boats on display, more than 200 exhibitors and an estimated 1,200 sea trial trips, boat sellers reported strong interest from genuine prospective buyers, while exhibitors launching new products and equipment also reported significant sales activity and valuable industry connections forged across the four-day event.
Quality was evident across the entire event and feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Many observed that crowds were genuine, serious boat owners and enthusiasts, there to explore new boats and equipment, connect with suppliers and gather expert advice before making their next move on the water.
Allan Tongs Boatbuilders had a great show with their Auckland-built production boat the Elite AT43 on display, and Ester Tongs says, ‘This boat show was buzzing! We spoke to so many boaties – both new and experienced – who loved seeing our quality, Kiwi-built boat on show amongst the packed marina. What a positive and optimistic show!’
Tracey Stevenson of Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders reported a good show for the custom boatbuilding specialist. “The Auckland Boat Show is the industry’s pinnacle event. It’s important for us to be there because we rely on relationships and collaboration across the industry,” she says. “For us the show is primarily about relationship building, but we have completed the show with possible new boat builds.”
An estimated 1,200 trips were taken from the show’s Sea Trial zone where Yamaha New Zealand started the show with a live demonstration of its freshly launched Helm Master Ex wireless control system on Breakfast TV.
Introducing a new product into the market requires commitment to building relationships, and for Naut – like others in the industry – the Auckland Boat Show was an opportunity to streamline that process by seeing many people together in one place. Fiona Bycroft of Naut said, “The Auckland Boat Show was a great opportunity to connect directly with boat owners and builders about the future of electric boating.”
The show opened on Thursday morning with the inaugural Women in Marine event, which brought together 115 attendees to celebrate the growing contribution of women across boating, marine business and ocean sport.
Demand from exhibitors also continued to grow in the lead-up to the event, with organisers expanding the show footprint to accommodate 30 new exhibitors alongside established marine brands, and in final count up, 235 boats on display.
NZ Marine President Tracey Stevenson says: “Feedback from visitors has been overwhelmingly positive, it was a great time to get together and catch up, and we enjoyed four magnificent days of weather.”
Event organiser Stacey Cook says the event remains one created by the industry, for the industry, and that the combination of innovation, craftsmanship and lifestyle continues to make the Auckland Boat Show the standout event on the marine calendar. “We are thrilled to once again have incredibly high-quality visitors to the show – the industry is looking buoyant and we thank everyone that travelled to visit the show and to exhibit at the show. The industry makes the show what it is and we thank everyone yet again for their ongoing support”
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