MISSION ACCOMPLISHED FOR BOAT SHOW

ORGANISERS promised a bumper year and that’s what they have achieved as the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show boosted visitor numbers and sales at last weekend’s event to the best in years.

The four-day event attracted more than 42,000 visitors, up 12 per cent on 2013, while sales of $35 million also exceeded last year’s figures.

The Gold Coast’s largest luxury boat manufacturer Riviera accounted for a third of that figure with $12 million in sales, while Bill Barry-Cotter’s Maritimo secured more than $6 million in sales.

Maritimo sales and marketing manager Greg Haines says sales included an M32 sports cruiser, an M58 cruiser and the just released S58 cruiser – all of which will be added to Maritimo’s production schedule this year.

“We will do more deals this week so all in all it has been a very solid show for us,” Haines says.

“We have forward orders now for months which is a great position for us to be in.”

The Sunshine Coast also caught the wave with Multihull Solutions selling five catamarans for a total of $5.6 million, marking its best show ever.

“This is the best result Multihull Solutions has had from any boat show in Australia,” says Multihull Solutions managing director Mark Elkington.

“And with strong leads generated at this year’s Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, we expect to continue the sales momentum for the next few months.”

Mulpha Sanctuary Cove head of events Johan Hasser says the sales and visitor turnout at this year’s boat show hold promising signs for the health of the south-east Queensland marine industry.

“The general feedback from exhibitors was that there is more confidence in the market and there were genuine shoppers out over the Show,” Hasser says.

“This year’s results set the tone for the remainder of the Australian boat show circuit.

“Sanctuary Cove is the first boat show on the Australian calendar every year. It tests the waters of the boating industry and, if this year’s results are anything to go by, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane can expect bumper shows as well.”