Barometer for Canadian industry sets positive tone for 2013.  The 55th annual Toronto International Boat Show closed on January 20 amid extremely positive feedback from exhibitors. With more than 550 manufacturers and dealers across the sold-out Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, many reported the ten day show exceeded their expectations, establishing the groundwork for what is shaping up to be a strong year for the boating industry in Canada. Overall attendance was 81,010 — up six percent from 2012, and more than nine percent above the average attendance of the last three years. “We continue to take a very focused approach with our marketing and features strategies, which is contributing to attendance growth and attracting motivated consumers,” said Cynthia Hare, Show Manager. “We’re delighted that our exhibitors are reporting great sales across the board.” Canada’s largest boat show once again featured special attractions such as the world’s largest indoor lake for boaters, which this year showcased professional wakeboarding superstars at the inaugural Winter Wake Fest. Another hit with attendees was the popular Canadian Yachting Island Village under the palms in SailFest that featured the authentic sounds and flavours of the Caribbean amid
the sail focused area of the show.

“We’ve really turned the corner — this year’s show was much better than any in the past three years or more,” said Wim Zegers, President of Anchor Yachts, dealer for Beneteau. “We love the set-up of the SailFest Upper Deck and I believe the pent-up consumer demand really produced excellent results this year.”

Tyler Bisby, District Sales Manager of Princecraft said overall sales were up 10% at this year’s show. “We were right on target in terms of number of units sold and are pleased with the sales of both our pontoon and fishing boats.” “We started strong with sales up 49% on the opening Friday night and it just continued all week,” said Jack Summers, General Manager of Radio World.  “This is among the four best shows we’ve ever had because consumers were very value-conscious and we were able to deliver across all our product lines.”

“We brought in 12 new models of pontoon boats to this year’s show and our sales results are exactly what we forecast – which is on a par with last year’s show which was our best ever,” said Brad MacArthur, Sales and Operations Manager, Legend Boats.
Sales results were strong across the entire marine spectrum, with canoe and kayak sales excellent according to Bill Swift, Owner of Swift Canoe. “We’re very pleased with this year’s show. We believe that our buyers are very intent on getting outdoors for some fresh air and exercise — and our sales of paddleboards in particular were very strong.”

The positive mood of this year’s Toronto Boat Show was in keeping with annual sales statistics introduced during the week that showed Canadian new boat and engine sales up 13% as of September 2012. The leading boat trend in Canada is aluminum pontoon boats, experiencing a 23 percent increase in sales.

In addition to a multitude of family-friendly features, the 10-day Toronto Boat Show also saw increased attendance at Special Preview Night on Friday, January 11. A new two-tier ticketing structure resulted in a much larger turnout.  In support of Children’s Charities. Since 2000, more than $600,000 has been raised for initiatives that are close to the hearts of the boating community.

Dates for the 2014 Toronto International Boat Show are January 11 – 19
Special Preview Night will be Friday, January 10.
More than 10 million Canadians went boating last year — with 52 percent of all boaters living in Ontario. Owned and produced by Canadian Boat Shows, the Toronto International Boat Show is one of the largest consumer boat shows in North America, and a preeminent selling venue for the recreational boating industry, generating more than $354 million in economic impact to the region.
During the last five years, it has annually attracted more than 550 exhibitors, more boats are purchased at the Toronto International Boat Show than at any other place or event in Canada.

To learn more visit:  www.torontoboatshow.com