Southampton Boat Show attendance

[Concerto]

The organisers are putting a brave face on the attendance numbers of 83,000 this year and claiming closing on Monday for the Queen's funeral was to blame.
SIBS reports on its 2022 sunshine-infused show - Marine Industry News

Last year the number attending was 88,000, this was after the cancellation of the 2020 show and Covid restrictions to attend the show in 2021. The attendance in 2019 was 103,000.

Personally I feel the attendance was down due to the withdrawl of the free RYA members tickets.

 

[Capt Popeye]

Well maybe , guess that there a quite a few poss reasons for lower attendence to any show , these days ;

Maybe considered far to close to the Covid virus for peoples to attend multi persons events like shows ;

maybe financial considerations , less money going around ?
Yes the loss of the Monday most probably effected the attraction ?

Just maybe Boating is on the wane again , not so good a reason to buy into it ?

 

[Wansworth]

Lots of uncertainty

 

[Sandy]

Personally I feel the attendance was down due to the withdrawl of the free RYA members tickets.

I totally agree with you.

The SBS is quite a small trade show and needs to reduce the number of days it is open. I am an RYA member who did not attend.

 

[dunedin]

Possibly attendees who are prepared to pay a small amount to attend (eg £16/head via RYA offer) are more focused/ qualified prospects than those who will only go as a free day out?

But I suspect it is a general trend as so much more is done online nowadays - plus combination of
- reports of very long lead time for any new orders
- lots of signs of UK economy being put into further decline and consequent higher interest rates reducing confidence

 

[Wansworth]

Maybe it’s time for smaller themed exhibitions focused on different sections of the public such as small boats up to 25 foot in a more centralized venue inland and leave the big boats for weekend/week long exhibits afloat .The original boat show was is many ways showing an uninformed public keen to get afloat these days there is so much info and communication people know what they want before going.Are you if selling a 40 footer looking to attract just interested dad and mum out for the day who can not afford your wares,better people turning up who could buy.

 

[PWLS08]

Personally I feel the attendance was down due to the withdrawl of the free RYA members tickets.

That was certainly the case with me.

 

[jac]

I’m an RYA member, didn’t go but would have gone if the ticket was free but I resent paying £16 to go and buy stuff.

I’m just completing the purchase of a new to us boat so will need to spend a small fortune over the next couple of years bringing boat into line with our requirements. I guess that money will get spent with companies that I already know or that get recommendEd to me Rather than the “I never knew I needed to buy that”

To me it was an odd decision and suggests the organisers are not sure who they are aiming the show at. Is it an opportunity for companies to sell products to people interested in boats or is it an entertainment spectacle. By reducing the number of known spenders I would argue it‘s more likely they are aiming at the entertainment market and just want to sell tickets and care little about exhibitors own sales

 

[[2574]]

Maybe it’s an age thing but I have little interest in wandering around a boat show for the sake of it, I’d rather be out sailing. I’ve the boat that I want, I don’t lust after a brand new shiny gazillion £ boat so my only reason to go is if I’m doing a big upgrade project and want to meet suppliers or compare products. No one needs to go to a show to buy a rope or foulies, order online and it’s delivered to the marina. I’ve noticed that Raymarine are now doing a roadshow around the country of their offerings, excellent idea I reckon, I much prefer visiting a local venue and have suppliers come to me.

 

[Daydream believer]

I was told that there were no chandlers to browse through & try stuff & impulse buy from. I want to try the jackets, deck shoes, spare crew's life jackets that need replacing, base layers, different furling gear for my new rigging this year. Stuff that I cannot really buy online knowing if it will fit. Then while I am there I can add bits of hardware, rope offcuts, mooring lines, cut price fenders, , etc,
Quite honestly I soon get fed up looking at 40+ ft yachts( or any size for that matter) that I am never going to buy. I see them at any marina I visit. So absolutely no point in going on them anyway. I certainly would not want, a westerly so that stand is of no interest. I do not want a MOBO, so they hold zero interest. I spit on catamarans
So really there was nothing of interest to make me want to spend ages travelling there in the first place. Even if I did have a free ticket, which must defeat the object of the exercise for the event holder. As for not going because of the ticket price £16 in the grand scheme of things is nothing if one walks away with £900 of deck clothing or gets to choose a £2K furling gear

 

[Sandy]

Possibly attendees who are prepared to pay a small amount to attend (eg £16/head via RYA offer) are more focused/ qualified prospects than those who will only go as a free day out?

I have always seen trade shows in a different light. They are there to allow me to talk directly to manufactures/distributers about what they are doing and for detailed technical information, I am an engineer, and tend to ignore the 'shiny sales people' in the blazers and chinos.

My beer tokens are left at home, impulse buys are usually not good one. If people want to pay for a day out they will still go.

 

[SaltyC]

The organisers are putting a brave face on the attendance numbers of 83,000 this year and claiming closing on Monday for the Queen's funeral was to blame.
SIBS reports on its 2022 sunshine-infused show - Marine Industry News

Last year the number attending was 88,000, this was after the cancellation of the 2020 show and Covid restrictions to attend the show in 2021. The attendance in 2019 was 103,000.

Personally I feel the attendance was down due to the withdrawl of the free RYA members tickets.

I agree with the comment and count as 1 that didn't attend for that reason.
I was disappointed last year with the lack of chandler's although understood we were still transitioning out of the covid era.

However, over the last few years there appears to be a growth in minority / lifestyle stands only remotely connected to leisure boating. Obviously someone has to pay for the additional space and cost taken up by the site growth.

Perhaps next year? as I need to explore new electronics and would like to compare the different offerings rather than just replace with current manufacturer.

A little thread drift, or do I wait for the 'new' plotters that meet the requirements after removal of paper charts - with the associated price hike?

 

[Boathook]

I was wondering whether to invest in a ticket but hearing about the lack of places 'selling' oilskins and solar panels made it a no brainer for me.

Went with a friend to Screwfix live instead. Free and you got a 'goody' bag with a few useful items for attending. Spent money there on a few items after seeing them on stands. Reminded me of the old Earls Court boat show.

 

[Capt Popeye]

Might I ask , cannot most of the Boating items , clothing , tools , lighting , ropes , anchors , bits and bobs be both seen , inspected and then purchased at a Good Chandlery near YOU ?

Why travel (at some covid risk) into London of all places , poss by Public Transport , UGH UGH , rather car it to a good Chandlery , even it it means travelling some miles to do so ; Chandlery in my experience often offer reduced items , plus used items , plus a sensible fella to talk to , about , what else ? BOATS

 

[flaming]

At the end of the day the success of the show has only ever been partly measured by footfall. The business done by the exhibitors, and the "new people met" is at least as important.

Since I was involved with the show, the equation has been changing. There was a time when the costs involved in hiring stand space, building a stand, shipping your stock to the show, putting staff up in hotels, hiring temp stand staff etc etc were worth it for the extra boost in sales.

But ever since it was possible, and common, to stand on a retail stand and google the product you had just tried on and then buy it online for delivery tomorrow at a lower price....

The equation for retail at the shows shifted considerably, and it's largely gone.

But at the same time, the loss of the retail sector for the show reduces the draw.

 

[Frogmogman]

It’ll be interesting to see if the visitor numbers at Le Grand Pavois (La Rochelle boat show), which started yesterday, hold up.

Like Southampton it’s an afloat show, and seems rather bigger than Southampton.

 

[Sandy]

A little thread drift, or do I wait for the 'new' plotters that meet the requirements after removal of paper charts - with the associated price hike?

Paper charts have not been removed. Strangely, the Hydrographic Office is not printing them, but other suppliers are available.

 

[benjenbav]

There were quite a few comments on here from attendees to the effect that it seemed that a number of habitual exhibitors hadn’t taken stands owing to their seeing little benefit now that their customers would be likely to default to buying online.

I imagine that a number of potential customers didn’t attend for exactly that reason whilst others stayed away for other reasons already mentioned.

 

[dunedin]

I was told that there were no chandlers to browse through & try stuff & impulse buy from. I want to try the jackets, deck shoes, spare crew's life jackets that need replacing, base layers, different furling gear for my new rigging this year. Stuff that I cannot really buy online knowing if it will fit. Then while I am there I can add bits of hardware, rope offcuts, mooring lines, cut price fenders, , etc,

Then you were told wrongly. I was able to compare and try on various lifejackets at the show, and deck shoes etc also available.

 

[dunedin]

Paper charts have not been removed. Strangely, the Hydrographic Office is not printing them, but other suppliers are available.

UKHO stopping printing paper charts on a phased basis between now and 2026. Yes other paper charts are often available …… but depending on where you sail and what scale of charts you need.
Imray and NV folios are great but don’t cover all of UK waters. And Imray C series paper charts are extremely small scale (eg 1:160,000 compared to perhaps 1:25,000 of previous UKHO versions) and therefore better suited to harbour to harbour trips than exploring anchorages.