on 3 Aug 2022
The largest boat show in Australia welcomed 45,000 visitors over five days
The Sydney International Boat Show recorded 45,000 visitors in five days this week, after two years of cancellations and delays due to the pandemic.
The 2022 Sydney International Boat Show ran from July 28-August 1 at ICC Sydney and Cockle Bay in Darling Harbour. The event featured hundreds of boats on display, including 17 Australian and Asia-Pacific and global product launches, and exhibitors reported strong sales throughout the show.
Boating Industry Association (BIA) president Andrew Fielding said: “Boat registrations grew by 18,500 over the past 12 months across the nation, taking powerboat registrations to 925,000 and personal watercraft registrations to more than 90,000.
“It was great to see crowds surpass 45,000 over the past few days. People enjoying the opportunity to get out and ignite their passion for boating and experiencing all that a boat show like this offers.
“The BIA is proud to be back in this harbour city with the Sydney International Boat Show. Two years of cancellations disrupted what was up until that time an extraordinary run of boat shows.”
Multihull Solutions sold four Fountaine Pajot sailing and power catamarans to buyers from Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast and Port Stephens and The Yacht Sales Co. sold a Dufour 470 sailing yacht at the show and attracted several more genuine leads.
Princess Yachts director Greg Haines says the luxury motor yacht manufacturer was delighted to return to the show this year: “Given the past few years, everything felt very unknown going into this year’s show,” Haines says.
“Despite that, we were very excited to have both returning and new clients stop by, as well as customers with boats on order coming along to check out the show.”
The show provided not only a platform for impressive industry sales, but also the announcement of Stefanie Mannering of Cruise Craft Boats as 2022 Apprentice of the Year, a Heads of Agreement to merge BIA Victoria into BIA Ltd, and briefings on work with the government to deliver significant wins for industry across marinas and boat yards, safety and infrastructure.