Dealer registration for the 2017 Marine Dealer Conference & Expo launched with momentum in April, setting a new opening-month registration record for the Dec. 10-13 event in Orlando.
With 193 dealer registrations during the April Earliest Bird savings period, the MDCE said it attracted a more than 15 percent increase in registrations from the same period in 2016.
Momentum has continued, and registrations have now eclipsed the 200 mark.
“With most dealers being busier than they have been in a decade, we’re absolutely thrilled that they continue to turn to the MDCE in record numbers to help them strengthen their businesses,” Liz Walz, education director and vice president of the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, the group that owns the show, said in a statement. “We believe that we’ve improved our educational lineup each year, encouraging more dealers to engage with the MDCE content, and 2017 will continue that trend.”
At the 2017 MDCE, the educational lineup features all-new Pre-Conference Workshops, keynotes and track sessions and also will include an expanded lineup of Dealer-to-Dealer Roundtables. These discussions, which put dealers face to face with colleagues to discuss challenges, opportunities and solutions for success, will be offered three times during the conference.
Last year 167 dealers registered for the MDCE in April, and the event drew a record 640 marine dealers to the three-day event. The MDCE, co-produced by the MRAA and Boating Industry magazine, still offers $115 off the standard registration — $75 off for MRAA members and a $40 early bird rate, good through Sept. 22, in honor of the MRAA’s 40th anniversary of educational programming.
“It’s a great demonstration of the trust that we’ve built with the dealer body to see so many dealers register prior to the MDCE educational programming being introduced,” Boating Industry editor-in-chief Jonathan Sweet said.
“We’ve proven that we can not only respond to the needs of today’s dealers with outstanding courses, but also that we can share with them critical insights into the trends they need to know for success tomorrow.”
