With expanded in-water and on-land space and new luxury lifestyle activations, the 31st annual Miami Yacht Show delivered a new visitor experience for guests and an enhanced sales environment for exhibitors. Held over Presidents Day Weekend (February 14-18, 2019) at its new location in downtown Miami at One Herald Plaza between the MacArthur and Venetian causeways on Biscayne Bay, the all-new show is receiving enthusiastic reviews. Total attendance at this year’s five-day event was 7.23 percent higher than last year’s show.   “I’m extremely proud of our U.S Boat Shows team for demonstrating true excellence in building and executing such an extraordinary event,” said Andrew Doole, President of Informa Global Exhibitions, U.S. Boat Shows. “The City of Miami and the County are great partners and together we all delivered a world-class show that has demonstrated tremendous opportunities for growth and ongoing success.”   After 30 years on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, the show’s new 60-acre Downtown Miami exhibition complemented the display of hundreds of yachts with pop-up luxury retail, guest lounges and bars, exotic cars, private aircraft and special events. With more than 3,500 parking spaces within walking distance of the show and easy access from Brightline and the Metromover, the new venue made getting to the show more convenient than ever before.   Exhibitors feedback included praise for the new location and the quality of attendees.   “We’re extremely pleased with the Miami Yacht Show’s new downtown location,” Viking President and CEO Patrick Healey said. “Everything from the increased parking to the added space for vendors to the fresh, new waterfront layout helped make this a first-class exposition and a major success. We have every reason to look forward to next year with great optimism.”
Kevin Althoff, Director of Sales with Burr Yacht Sales, which was in the show’s Sea Isle Marina, said, “We had a good show. The boaters we interacted with onboard were energetic and eager to learn more about our products. Having arrived at the show with minimal traffic, parking nearby for a reasonable rate and a short walk to the show, they were willing to spend more time onboard. We took a contract on a new Fleming yacht and feel a good momentum from a lot of future buyers!”   Hans Lo, project manager at CL Yachts, shared similar sentiment. “We are excited to announce the first sale from our new brand during the official launch here at the Miami Yacht Show and we look forward to selling many more of our yachts to discerning luxury buyers.”   Additional enhancements to this year’s Miami Yacht Show included a 67,000-square-foot exhibition space, which featured the indoor-outdoor Windward VIP Lounge, the show’s premium VIP experience. The Windward VIP Lounge was presented by Ulysse Nardin, the official timekeeper of the Miami Yacht Show.
The new location also is closer in proximity to the Miami Yacht Show’s satellite display of superyachts, known as SuperYacht Miami, at Island Gardens Deep Harbour on Watson Island, where Ulysse Nardin hosted the global launch of their new Marine Mega Yacht Watch aboard Baglietto’s Silver Fox.   “Baglietto was very happy with the Miami Yacht Show. We had an excellent spot at Island Gardens which gave the boat wonderful exposure,” said Grant Henderson, Sales Manager Americas for Baglietto. “Overall, we were impressed with the quality of customers and brokers that visited the boat. Being a custom shipyard and having a new boat in the show to demonstrate what we are capable of building is a tremendous opportunity, and we are thrilled with the feedback we have received.”     An exhibitor with displays at One Herald Plaza and SuperYacht Miami at Island Gardens, the Ferretti Group, added, “In the end, our results were better than I anticipated considering this was a “first year” event,” said Randy Coleman, VP of Sales – North America for Ferretti Group. “Much of what contributed to this was our physical position at the show and the efforts on both the part of Informa and our own staff in organizing and focusing the team for the monumental task of displaying 14 boats from 38 feet to 108 feet.”   “We displayed four of our largest models at the show, including two X60 coupes and interest in the brand was extremely high,” said Maritimo Americas’ President Dave Northrop. “Miami was strong for us and we now look forward to the next major show in Palm Beach in four weeks.”   The Miami Yacht Show is co-owned by Informa and the International Yacht Brokers Association. According to research conducted by Thomas Murray and Associates in 2016, the annual yacht show generates an estimated $486 million in economic output.   About Informa Exhibitions Informa Exhibitions, the global exhibitions division of Informa PLC, enables communities across the globe to engage, experience and do business by providing them with powerful platforms to connect across key regions and market verticals. Industry insight, coupled with an innovative and customer first approach, provides Informa Exhibitions’ customers and partners with the opportunity to create business advantage and access markets, both digitally and face-to-face, 365 days of the year.  About Informa PLC Informa PLC is a leading, international business to business information services Group, operating in over 30 countries. We create transaction-led exhibitions and content-based events, specialist data, intelligence and marketing services products, as well as scholarly research and specialist reference-led academic content. Our products and services help businesses and professionals connect, learn, do business and gain an edge over the competition. Informa is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.