Trade fair: Trends and highlights at the 55th boot Düsseldorf - mixed response

Once a year, the Stockum district of Düsseldorf becomes a Mecca for all those who are famous on the water or simply enjoy travelling on it. For decades, boot Düsseldorf has been a family get-together, the most important networking event and a valuable sales platform with direct customer contact for many manufacturers. Despite the wintry weather on the first weekend and the start of the rail strike halfway through the fair, according to official figures around 214,000 visitors from 120 countries travelled to the 55th boot. Although the number of visitors was down on the previous year (237,000), organisers, exhibitors and visitors were satisfied overall.

Fewer visitors at boot Düsseldorf

The first weekend alone attracted almost 55,000 visitors to the trade fair. Among them were many industry experts, for whom the first water sports event of the year is the most important platform for dialogue as well as a source of inspiration and ideas. Many customers and prospective buyers also visited the stands of around 1,500 exhibitors from 67 nations to find out about innovations and new products from the industry. Quite a few of them made a deal on the spot. boot Düsseldorf boss Petros Michelidakis reported a high level of buying interest among visitors: "Many boats were sold directly from the stand here at the trade fair. And the diving tower and action pool made it possible to test the latest accessories and boards directly on site."

The hands-on activities in diving, sailing, surfing and paddling were once again among the biggest crowd-pullers at the trade fair and attracted young people in particular.

What the exhibitors say

Andreas Schöchl, owner ofSunbeam Watersports, was very satisfied with the trade fair: "The new Sunbeam 29.1 was sensationally well received and confirms the new line that started with the 32.1. It felt like the number of visitors was lower than last year, but the actual buying interest was higher."

The trade fair went better than expected for Samuel Dubois, CEO ofJeanneauThe atmosphere was really good and there was a lot going on during the week. The quality of the visitors was also very good, they came from all over Europe, but also from Asia, the Middle East and North America."

This is also the view of Torsten Bastiansen, Export Sales Manager atX-Yachts"The customers were generally very positive and interested, we had customers from 42 countries at the stand - a record."

Daniel Kohl, Germany representative forDufour/Fountaine Pajotsays: "The trade fair went better than we expected compared to last year, there were again many international visitors. With the exception of Thursday, all days were well attended. Our interest is mainly focussed on the 40-foot segment. The demand for smaller boats is very low."

Maxim Neumann, Head of SalesHanseyachts (Hanse, Dehler, Moody, among others): "boot Düsseldorf 2024 has exceeded our expectations. The demand for our large yachts over 46 feet remains high. Our new 410 models and the 360, which had previously only been presented as a rendering, were very well received by visitors. And our new Moody DS 48 was the highlight of the show from our point of view."

The direct competitor reports something similar. Marcus Schlichting, Head of MarketingBavaria Yacht Building"Especially at the weekends, but also on all other days of the week, we were delighted with the high visitor frequency at our stand in Hall 16 for sailing boats. In total, we counted more than 15,000 visitors, who were almost evenly distributed between the six yachts we exhibited, from the Bavaria Cruiser 34 to the Bavaria C57. As a German premiere in Düsseldorf and due to winning the European Yacht of the Year Award, the queue at the Bavaria C46 was always a little longer. In addition to the number of visitors from all over Europe, we were also pleasantly surprised by the expertise of the visitors who approached our dealers with specific questions."

Stefan Matschuck, Managing DirectorNorth Sails Germany, is also pleased with the trade fair visitors: "After nine days in Düsseldorf, we can draw a positive conclusion. We had a lot of expert visitors at our stand, especially during the week. boot is and remains a great forum that we enjoy attending. This year this was especially true because we were able to present our new Renew cloth to the public. The response from trade visitors and customers was correspondingly high. We look forward to coming back next year."

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Lots of variety at boot Düsseldorf

Many visitors were drawn to the numerous stage programmes with the stars of the scene or to the top-class workshops, some of which were on the programme for both amateur athletes and experts. For example, the Classic Forum offered short courses for the youngest visitors to try out for themselves. They could build their first sailing boat in the children's boatyard. Numerous boats from different eras were presented here and the development of boat building through the ages was shown. The highlight was the "Victoria", a replica of a Roman river galley from the LWL-Römermuseum Haltern am See in Hall 14. But basically, wherever you looked, the focus was on the future.

For decades, the trade fair has been regarded as the trendsetter in the industry. The trend towards sustainability concepts in all areas was once again noticeable this year as visitors wandered through the halls. Marine conservation and innovative, sustainable technologies are playing an increasingly important role in water sports, and the trade fair has developed into a central dialogue platform for political and tourism decision-makers. The Blue Innovation Dock sustainability forum has become a real driver of innovation. New ideas and visions for more sustainability in boat building, the development of new propulsion systems and the management of marinas and tourism were exchanged here.

Insurers satisfied with boot Düsseldorf

Those who always have their ear very close to the ground are the yacht insurers. Martin Baum, Managing Director of Pantaenius Yacht Insurance, says: "boot 2024 has clearly demonstrated its importance as a leading trade fair for us. We can look back on nine very busy days with numerous visits to our exhibition stands in Halls 10 and 3. The current price trend is reflected in the sums insured for the boats inquired about. Here we are seeing a significant increase across all lengths compared to the previous year, although the general demand for smaller trailer boats appears to be somewhat subdued compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the trend in the multihull segment remains unbroken."

Hamburg-based yacht insurance company Schomacker reports that its stand was very well attended, especially from Monday onwards. The number of contacts had increased significantly compared to last year. Enquiries about insurance for motor and sailing yachts had almost doubled compared to last year. As existing customers also enjoyed visiting the stand, the trade fair was also an important customer loyalty tool for the insurance broker. Managing Director Andreas Medicus says: "As always, boot was professionally organised and continues to be the most important platform for us to make contact with yacht owners and charter crews and also for B-to-B business."

The picture in the charter industry is divided: Christian Zaloudek, Managing Director of Sarres Schockemöhle Yachting, says: "The trade fair went well for us, even though there were noticeably fewer visitors. Croatia and Greece are in very high demand in the Mediterranean, while Sardinia and the Tuscan islands did well in Italy. Turkey and France continue to weaken. In the long-haul destinations, the Seychelles are doing very well, partly due to the good flight connections. In the Caribbean, BVI demand is declining due to the current high ship prices, with Martinique currently the winner in terms of value for money. Our customers remarked that there are few ships from the charter range that can be viewed without further ado; you now have to leave your full details, make appointments and wait a long time. There were also very few cats to be seen this year."

Peter Kollmann-Jehle, Master Yachting, adds: "We are satisfied. It felt a little less crowded than last year. But the visitors who came knew what they wanted, which is of course nice. Greece went really well, and we were pleased that the Caribbean is back in customers' sights after a long dry spell. Our training courses for catamaran charters also went very well, there seems to be a need for further training."

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