Informa Exhibitions buys South Florida boat shows

I was just reading another press release in total disbelief...

http://boatingindustry.com/news/2017/03/01/yachts-miami-beach-reports-positive-2017-show/

Is it just me, or does it feel like misinformation is running rampant? For those of us who have attended these shows throughout the years, we have watched attendance sharply decline, but according to show promoters, business has never been better! (insert roll-eyes emoticon here)

Collins was dead.

It's always been that way with shows of every type. They've never had a bad year. The reports come from the show managers. We're not going to publicly say we failed this year.

Just wondering how the new format with paid admission affected the show; were the brokers and new sales happy with the reduced crowds? We noticed the difference especially at the food and beverage areas, not difficult to find a table even at peak times.

Sales on new yachts were very slow from what I hear. However a used yacht broker told me there were a lot less people wandering the docks BUT, they were serious boaters/buyers and not your families looking for free entertainment.

Palm Beach Boat show starts tomorrow are you going to attend?

March 23 - 26, 2017

http://www.showmanagement.com/palm-beach-international-boat-show-2017/event/