The excellent rate of sales has enabled the show to put up the ‘sold out’ sign already, underlining its position as the leading showcase for the sports and recreational sailing industry in Spain. This year the event organised by Fira de Barcelona will exceed 270 exhibitors, including the leading companies in the national and international nautical world such as Beneteau, Jeanneau, CNB-Lagoon, Marina Estrella, Sunseeker, Touron, Yamaha and Zodiac.
The space set aside for the floating exhibition will be packed to the gunnels with more than 170 sailboats and motorboats over 8 metres long, the most notable feature this year being the range of catamarans, with more than 20 on show.
Meanwhile, on land there will be more than 600 smaller boats and dinghies on display, as well as the latest in electronics, paints, sails, trailers and services. All in all, the International Boat Show will be showcasing around 700 boats in its exhibition areas.
According to the director of the Barcelona International Boat Show, JordiFreixas, ’the interest and response from exhibitors points to greater optimism in the sector and will mean that once again we will have an outstanding nautical offering, which along with all the other activities we are organising will make the Boat Show the key meeting place for doing business, discovering the latest products and sharing our passion for the sea.’
In this respect, the fifty-sixth edition of the show will be putting a bigger emphasis than ever on its professional side, with the organisation of the first Professional Meetings. An agenda of meetings between exhibitors and visitors, who will have a space in which to make contacts and offer their products and services with the aim of opening up new markets and sourcing new partners. To date, more than 200 people have signed up. In addition the second edition of the Seminars for Entrepreneurs and Startups is being held, which now extends to every day of the show, with around twenty companies taking part. Standout products include a nautical services app, a portal for booking rental boats, a lightweight kayak that can be dismantled, and even magnetised tableware for worry-free sailing.
A burgeoning sector
The 2017 edition of the Barcelona Boat Show comes at a happy moment for the sector after all the difficulties of the recent economic crisis. According to figures from the National Association of Nautical Enterprises (ANEN), in the first eight months of the year recreational boat registrations rose by 9.7% compared to the same period last year. The biggest growth in boat registrations compared to the previous year is the segment of boats longer than 12 metres, which has grown by 50% on average. Catalonia continues to lead the market with an upturn of 17.64%. Rentals have consolidated their rising trend with an increase of 23.5%, with Catalonia at the top (+25.23%), followed by the Balearic Islands (+25.02%) and the Valencian Community (+16.85%).
