St. Petersburg Boat Show and Strictly Sail™ Attendance Increases by 30%

 
St. Petersburg Boat Show and Strictly Sail™ Attendance Increases 30% over 2007

Buoyed by the addition of sailboats for the first time, the St. Petersburg Boat Show & Strictly Sail that ran from Dec. 4-7, 2008 at the Mahaffey Theater Yacht Basin, enjoyed a 30% increase in attendance from the 2007 St. Petersburg Boat Show. Exhibitors said the increase reflected continued public enthusiasm for both sail and power boating.

In June 2008, veteran show producer Show Management of Ft. Lauderdale, FL and Sail America, the trade association for the U.S. sailing industry, merged the former St. Petersburg Boat Show and the Strictly Sail St. Pete show to create the all-new “super show.”

“Our new joint show has been an outstanding success, bringing in record-breaking gate attendance as well as quality buyers for sail, power and booth exhibitors,” said Dane Graziano, Show Management senior vice president and chief operating officer. “We believe this wonderful show is destined to grow larger and even more successful in 2009.”

Sail America Executive Director Jonathan Banks agreed, saying, “We were really pleased with the results of this joint venture and the positive feedback we have received from visitors and exhibitors. The combined show attracted more quality sailboat buyers than we’ve seen in previous shows. There was a high level of interest in Discover Sailing and Sail America’s 70 educational and entertaining boating seminars were well-received.”

The four-day boating festival enjoyed beautiful, sunny weather as crowds climbed aboard more than 500 boats on floating docks and land displays. Show-goers also enjoyed a newly expanded and air-conditioned Accessories Tent with 275 booths offering everything for the boating lifestyle.

Sailboat brands, including Hunter, Beneteau, Island Packet, Catalina Yachts, Jeanneau, Hanse, Tartan, J-Boats, Seawind, Corsair and Endeavor were displayed in a dedicated sailboat section in the marina; and trailerable boats, including Com Pac, Seaward, Precision, and Rhodes were lined up along the waterfront.

Despite a sluggish economy, dealers reported interest and leads, and several generated sales.

“The feedback from many power, sail and tent exhibitors was very positive,” said Chuck Bolt, Show Management national sales manager. “This new larger show made a great impression with our attendees, with new floating docks, an expanded Accessories Tent and plenty of fun things to do, such as our kids fishing clinics and the Latitudes and Attitudes Cruisers` Party.”

Exhibitors praised the new show layout, including the new floating docks for sailboats.

Ed Massey, of Massey Yacht Sales in Palmetto, FL, said, “The new joint effort St. Pete Boat Show and Strictly Sail was a tremendous step in the right direction. The traffic was the best I`ve seen at a St. Pete show in many years. The attendees were understandably negative about purchasing a yacht given the economy. However, boats were sold and there were many new leads for the dealers. The sailboat set-up was terrific and will grow nicely in the next few years. I predict that the St. Pete show will easily become the strongest sailboat show in the Southeast U.S.”

“The traffic has been double or triple what we’ve seen at the St. Pete show in the last three or four years and the quality of the traffic was really good,” said Ted Norris, Hunter Marine’s market development manager for the Southeast and Caribbean.

Island Packet’s Bill Bolin brought a fleet of sailboats to the show, and said the added traffic proved to be a real boon to all exhibitors. “The sailboat and sail-related exhibitors saw a big jump in traffic,” he noted. “There were lots of new folks to talk with this year. The venue, the food vendors, and overall ambience of the larger show improved the visitor experience over anything we have had in this market for the past 15 years.”

Future Plans for 2009

The St. Petersburg Boat Show and Strictly Sail show is scheduled to run in 2009 from Thursday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 6 at the same Mahaffey Theater Yacht Basin and Albert Whitted Park location. For information on becoming a 2009 exhibitor, please contact Show Management Chuck Bolt at cbolt@showmanagement.com or 954-764-7642. Ext. 215.