Wind in the sails of the National Boat Show 2010

Says Carl Woodland, Chief Operating Officer for Oasys Exhibitions: "We supplied the shell scheme packages, all the carpeting requirements and the electrical supplies for stands, as well as some of the organiser elements. These include the registration area, the organisers' office, freestanding graphic panels and the fascia boards."

A record number of 32 000 people visited the show over the three days, viewing merchandise and services for boating, diving, fishing and other outdoor activities. There was a display area for locally made as well as imported boats and the Wake Wars wakeboarding competition. Another highlight was the 'Rapala Fishing for the Future' workshops, touching on a wide range of angling topics, presented by experts in the field. Furthermore, the show featured a try-dive pool for aspiring scuba divers and boat-building workshops for the children.

Says Heidi Warricker, Managing Director of BizEvents, organisers of the show: "We conduct a survey each year, to learn firsthand from our patrons what to improve in the quality of the show. This year rendered some interesting results. The majority of visitors were male in the 40-49 year age category. Most of the visitors belong to a boat or dive club and a surprising 67% indicated they were prepared to pay R600 000 or more for a boat."

"Based on these responses, we anticipate even more growth next year, than we saw with this year's show. It seems that the recession did not impact these enthusiasts, who showed no intention to waive their willingness to invest in their hobby," says Warricker.

Concludes Woodland: "Oasys has been involved with the National Boat Show for eight years and we look forward to visiting many new shores in partnership with BizEvents."