The Miami International Boat Show and Yachts Miami Beach will open Thursday and continue through Monday at three locations, and both of the separately owned and operated shows will feature several new-boat debuts.

The Miami International Boat Show and Strictly Sail will take place on Virginia Key and at Miamarina at Bayside, respectively, and the redesigned Yachts Miami Beach will make its 29th annual appearance on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach along a mile-long strip of the Indian Creek Waterway.

The Miami International Boat Show, owned and operated by the National Marine Manufacturers Association, has increased its in-water presence from 409 boats to 565, and the show will have another 100 yachts as large as 105 feet in the Miami Marine Stadium Park basin.

“I’m excited about all the improvements we’ve made and excited to get to Miami, where we can showcase the boating industry for the world, where probably over $300 million of product will be sold in five days,” NMMA president Thom Dammrich said. “We listened to what everybody had to say, and we have tried to be responsive.”

There will be 1,300 boats on display and huge tents filled with accessories, all at an estimated value of $3 billion. There will be more than a million square feet of display space. Strictly Sail will feature 130 sailboats.

Yachts Miami Beach

Several yachts and superyachts will make their U.S. and world debuts at Yachts Miami Beach — known for its national and international appeal — and the show will feature more than $1 billion in new and brokerage yachts and accessories over 1.2 million square feet of space.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M15FwUtcJlc

Show Management and the International Yacht Brokers Association, co-owners of the show, engaged the design company EDSA to reimagine the event. EDSA is renowned for creating environments for destinations ranging from Atlantis in the Bahamas to the John F. Kennedy Center and Disney’s signature resorts.

“I can’t wait to see it come to fruition,” said Efrem “Skip” Zimbalist III, president of Show Management and executive chairman of Active Interest Media, the company that owns Show Management and Soundings Trade Only. “We took this as an opportunity to reinvent Yachts Miami Beach.”

Yachts Miami Beach will feature entry points and charge admission for the first time ($20) and will connect along the water to divert foot traffic from bustling Collins Avenue. Now there will be an internal walkway that extends over the water nearly the full length of the show.

“We were trying to create a more beautiful, peaceful, marine-oriented experience, as opposed to exposure to some of the hustle and bustle that takes place on Collins Avenue,” Zimbalist said.

Check Trade Only Today for daily news reports from both shows.