London Boat Show 2019: British Marine cancels the annual event

Poor sales and attendance are the key factors behind the decision to cancel the London Boat Show, but British Marine is positive about the future of the Southampton Boat Show

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The London Boat Show‘s organiser and owner, British Marine, has announced that the 2019 event has been cancelled.
The show was supposed to run from 9-13 January 2019 at the ExCeL in London.

Independent research by exhibition experts, Zing Insights, showed poor attendance and lack of satisfaction in the show’s current format.

Zing Insights has carried out personal interviews with over 67% of exhibitors, revealing that that whilst a number of marine companies welcomed this year’s format change from 10 days to five, many exhibitors were not prepared to commit to exhibiting to a five day Show at ExCeL in January 2019.
Sales and signed contracts at the 2018 event were also below expectations for many boatbuilders and boat retailers.

The research also showed a lack of visitors’ satisfaction and poor attendance.

 

British Marine has therefore decided to cancel the London Boat Show and concentrate instead on the TheYachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show, which in contrast continues to be attractive to both the marine industry and visitors.

“The decision to put the London Boat Show on hold is naturally very disappointing for the British marine industry,” said David Pougher, President of British Marine, “but British Marine and its Board of Directors has a responsibility to its members and we cannot commit to running a Show which is clearly forecasted in its current format to be commercially unviable and will not meet customer satisfaction levels. By contrast, TheYachtMarket.com Southampton Boat Show produces a positive contribution to the industry, is well supported by exhibitors and visitors alike and is a highly successful event and we are now able to put all our energy, expertise and enthusiasm into this event.”

 

British Marine says making the decision to put the London Boat Show on hold now for 2019 enables the organisation to look at alternative options. “We are very aware that many companies in the marine industry look at a sales activity such as the London Boat Show in January as an excellent way to kick start the year, but times change and we must do the same in order to offer events which are affordable, accessible, welcomed and supported by the industry and its customers, and are financially viable for all involved.  This is now the task for the British Marine team, its Board, its members and valued advisors to seek new opportunities to support our industry,” concluded David Pougher.