Vancouver International Boat Show: BC Place and the Floating Show at Granville Island brought buyers
Feb 13, 2020
Despite Metro Vancouver experiencing some cold and wet weather conditions at the start of the week, attendance remained steady with serious, qualified buyers and strong onsite sales reported by exhibitors. Clear skies and sunshine over the weekend helped to close the show on a positive note, with busy traffic being seen at the Granville Island Floating Show.
M & P Mercury. the #1 Marine Dealer in North America is also winner of the 2019 Employer of Choice award in the Marine/dealer category.
Bob Popoajohn receiving the Employer of Choice Award from Canadian Yachting OnBoard West Coast Editor Bob Nicoll
“Overall at the 2020 Boat Show we saw genuine interest from people wanting to get into boating this coming season. People were engaged across all of our brands and models; our fishing boats and runabouts did extremely well, and our Heyday Wakesurf Boat was definitely our most popular model being checked out at BC Place,” said Bob Papajohn, President of M&P Mercury Sales. “The encouraging thing is that we’re still seeing a lot of first-time boaters, which is an important segment that we see as a result of being at the show. The best part for us is getting to showcase a wide variety of products to introduce families to the boating lifestyle here on the West Coast.”
Roderick Roy, General Manager of SeaNet Co. Inc. was very happy with their second year showing their boats in Vancouver. “We noticed a higher quality of buyer this year, and it’s factors such as these that have us already looking forward to coming back next year with our Absolute 50.”
Yamaha Motor Canada also recognized the quality of this year’s crowd at the Vancouver Boat Show, according to District Sales Manager Steve Cyr, who suggested, “Regardless of weather, attendance or any other outside factors, we had some extremely good and qualified buyers come through this year.”
Jason Burks, General Manager of Sundance Yachts, was extremely satisfied with the response to their new vessels. “This was the West Coast unveiling for both the 590 Prestige and the 420 Prestige, and we saw people from all over the country come through Granville Island to see them, and most were serious buyers looking to purchase this season.”
For retail and service-based exhibitors, such as Doug Warner of High Rize Kicker Lift, this year’s show kept him busy. “It’s been a real positive experience; we’ve been able to get our name out there and promote our company to the public. We couldn’t be happier.”
The entire show was favorable for Matt Price, from Harbour Chandler said, “This year was a big improvement on last year; our sales have been really good all week and we’ve secured a lot of new customers.”
With over 125 presentations and workshops over the five-day event, the 2020 show contained a program that was educational, entertaining, and had something to offer for every level and interest of boater. Featured guest, Twiggy the world-famous water-skiing squirrel, proved to be a popular draw for show goers, while teaching the importance of lifejacket wear and water-safety.
Western Canada’s largest consumer boating event, the Vancouver International Boat Show is owned by the Boating BC Association and produced by Canadian Boat Shows.
