- Feed
press releases
Contacts Show Director:
Nancy Piffard (401) 846-1115 x212
Contact Publicist: Rus Graham, Rushton Gregory Communications 603-799-2540
ATTENDANCE AND SALES BOTH UP AT 2012 NEWPORT BOAT SHOW
Oct 10, 2012
Newport, RI, September, 2012…Large crowds, perfect weather, lots of marine industry exhibitors, and a rising level of boat and boating product sales all mixed together in Newport, Rhode Island on September 13 - 16 to kick-off the 2012 Fall boating season in style! The 42nd Annual Newport International Boat Show recorded a 5% attendance increase over its regular count of tens of thousands of visitors…one of the highest numbers of attendees on the national boat show scene. More importantly, interest in new boat buying and actual orders placed at the Show seem to be a leading indicator of a bounce-back in industry growth.
One exhibitor, Dick Cromwell of Maritime Solutions, noted: “…the volume of sales and leads from the Newport show has me buried in a wonderful way. The Newport Boat Show was the best I have experienced in many years and I have been doing the show since 1995. The crowd was excellent. They were qualified and interested in boating. The best news is they were buying stuff. Not only from me but lots of vendors. The feedback I got from many vendors was that they were having a good show. Lots of smiles everywhere. Wow…it’s great to finally have a buying show again! “
Looking to the future, Steve Arnold of Bassett Marine said: “It was a great weekend in Newport. It was one of the nicest weather weekends I can remember, and I’ve done twelve NIBS in a row. Saturday was the most enjoyable day and our team took deposits on new Sea Rays. The energy of the crowd was extremely positive! We are anticipating some more deals to come our way over the next few weeks as a result of the show. “
One of the highlights this year’s Show was the Discover Boating “Welcome to the Water” Hands-On Learning Center and Carl Blackwell, President of Discover Boating commented about the synergy between attendees’ learning and buying habits: “We had several dealers bring over customers who needed just a little more confidence before they pulled the trigger. There was strong interest in all of our training clinics. What a great venue to make our unique operations work smoothly!”
This year’s winners of the Newport International Boat Show’s Newport For New Products program were also named during the Show. The Hunt 44 Express Sedan from Hunt Yachts in Portsmouth, Rhode Island was named Best New Powerboat and the Motive 25R Trimaran from Motive Trimarans of New York, NY took Best New Sailboat honors at this year’s Show. Raymarine’s i50 and i60 Instruments took the honors as the Show’s Best New Boating Product for the Nashua, NH company. The selections were made as part of the Show’s Newport For New Products program sponsored by Cruising World, Sailing World and Yachting magazines to recognize the best boats and boating products being introduced at the Show for the coming model year.
In addition to the Class winners, two other entries were recognized as the “best” in their respective categories. The French boat Barracuda 9 from Beneteau was named Best New Powerboat Under 30’, and another French boat, the Dufour 36P won as Best New Sailboat Over 30’. And, new this year, the Peoples’ Choice award was given to the Metan VB SeaCraft 23 Center Console from Metan Marine in Union, NJ.
The Newport International Boat Show is one of the largest in-water boat shows in the country and covered over 13 acres along America’s Cup Avenue in the luxurious setting of Newport, Rhode Island. More than 750 exhibitors brought over 600 boats ranging in size from 8 to 85 feet, including express cruising yachts, racing sailboats, ocean-going trawlers, multihulls, DownEast styles, sport fishing boats, runabouts, kayaks, canoes and inflatables. In addition, there are engines, sails, equipment, safety products, electronics plus thousands of accessories and marine services, as well as seminars, demonstrations and workshops.
As noted by Tom Delotto, Division Director of Newport Exhibition Group, producers of the Show: “The 2012 Newport International Boat Show continued the upswing in attendance that we’ve seen since the drops in 2008. The addition of the “Welcome to the Water” Hands-on Learning Center seems to have been a big success for many of our attendees. And, in general, the atmosphere was positive and exciting both among exhibitors and attendees alike”
The Newport International Boat Show dates for next year are September 12 – 15, 2013. For more information, call 401-846-1115 or 800-582-7846 or visit www.newportboatshow.com.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
The Newport International Boat Show
Newport, Rhode Island
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Carol Dietz
MEDIA ADVISOR
t: 203-769-1574
c: 401-829-6738
e: medadvsor@aol.com