Boot wrap up
Feb 14, 2019
When it comes to boat shows, boot (With a lowercase ‘b’) in Dusseldorf, Germany offers a wide range of boats and equipment that are hard to locate on this side of the Atlantic. As such, it makes a great international destination for Canadian boaters, although it has yet to catch on in large numbers.
I have included some photos from previous years to provide a sense of the scale of the show.
– JM
boot 2019 set a new record, with almost 2,000 exhibitors from 73 countries and displays covering 220,000 m² of stand space. Nearly 250,000 water sports fans (boot 2018: 247,000 visitors) came to Düsseldorf from over 100 countries: clear confirmation of the position boot holds as the leading event anywhere in the world. Their main home countries – apart from Germany – are the Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain, Switzerland and Italy.
According to Jürgen Tracht, Managing Director of the Association of the German Water Sports Industry, for both motor boats and sailing yachts, the trend is towards larger boats over 39 feet long as well as agile smaller boats. Multihull boats are also in great demand, a trend that was very obvious at the trade show. boot 2019 had no difficulty being an event not just for B2B visitors from the industry but also for the presentation of trend sports for the public. Decision-makers from major chartering companies, for example, use the trade fair to obtain a comprehensive insight into the market, to establish direct contact with the manufacturers and to make comparisons. And this is increasing, because chartering is becoming more and more popular with boot visitors and is a real trend in the industry. With 1,500 sailing yachts and motorboats at the exhibitors’ stands, the offer for charter enthusiasts was huge.
There was a further increase in the recreational diving and trend sport exhibits at boot 2019 which were major visitor attractions. About 100,000 surfing enthusiasts watched the sensational surfing demonstrations on “THE WAVE”. Numerous suppliers of boards reported that visitors are rediscovering the fun of surfing.
The atmosphere in the Dive Center and the entire diving hall was excellent from the first day on. Especially popular with the new and young visitors was the trial dive. boot Director Petros Michelidakis: “For the diving community boot is the event of the year. This is where diving trips are planned, diving partners found and the latest equipment tested.
The next staging of boot will take place from January 18 – 26, 2020 in Düsseldorf, Germany. For further information on visiting or exhibiting at boot 2020, contact:
Messe Düsseldorf (Canada)
480 University Avenue, Suite 1500
Toronto, ON M5G 1V2
Tel.: +1(416) 598-1524
Fax: +1(416) 598-1840
E-mail: messeduesseldorf@germanchamber.ca
Internet: www.messe-duesseldorf.de
