The National Marine Manufacturers Association said attendance at the Miami International Boat Show was 91,518. The association said in its Currents newsletter that other data improved over last year’s show. Water-taxi rides to and from the show were up 18 percent, to 60,000, with average wait times decreasing to 45 minutes compared with two hours last year. Bus ridership was up 24 percent compared with last year.
A new “Miami Connections” app by RaftUp Technologies also provided arrival and departure times for water taxis. About 5,000 attendees downloaded the app.
The NMMA said several boatbuilders reported their best opening day for the Miami show in many years. “We are very happy to hear from so many of our exhibitors that the 2019 Miami boat show was a strong sales event — the main barometer of the show’s success,” said Larry Berryman, show director, in a statement.
Last year’s attendance was 97,391, but an NMMA representative told Trade Only Today that this year’s attendance was “technically” higher than last year. “We adjusted how we’re counting tickets this year after moving to Miami Marine Stadium and adding Strictly Sail Miami to the location,” the rep said. “We made some enhancements to how we scan tickets, from multiday tickets to comp tickets and so on.”
Next year’s show is scheduled for Feb. 13-17.
