Helsinki International Boat Show strengthened its position

The 2019 Helsinki International Boat Show strengthened its position as the largest boating event in Northern Europe. More than 65,200 people visited the Boat Show over ten days. Business was bustling at the Boat Show and visitor satisfaction was high. The Boat Show was attended by 302 exhibitors with 26,854 square metres of exhibition space in use. The number of visitors to the event increased slightly and the surface area grew by 6% from last year. More than 500 boats were presented at the Boat Show. Seppo Vesterinen from Bella Boats, who is responsible for Aquador sales, is happy with the boat sales at the Boat Show. “We sold a lot of boats a year ago and sales have remained at the same level this year as well. This time, especially medium-sized and large boats were sold at the stand”, says Vesterinen. “The Boat Show is a very important annual sales event for our company.” Henri Jokinen, Managing Director of Astrum Vene Oy, agrees. “We are very pleased. We have sold a total of ten large Grandezza, Sargo and Arronet boats at the Boat Show, the most expensive of which cost 470,000 euros. Boat sales at the show continued to pick up from last year. There were a lot of people intending to make a purchase. Customers’ product knowledge has increased as information about the boats is available online. At the same time, the importance of shows is growing. People want to go inside and experience the boat before making a purchase decision”, says Jokinen. “The Boat Show provided us with many contacts that may lead to business even after the show.” At the Maritim stand, sales of boating equipment and accessories doubled from what they were a year ago. “It seems that boaters are gearing up for the upcoming boating season and want to invest in the comfort and safety of boating, in particular. There is also a desire to take care of the boat”, says Kim Tigerstedt, CEO of Oy Maritim Ab. “Products have been sold across the board, but life jackets, trim tabs, refrigerators and polishing machines have been particularly popular.” 91% of visitors satisfied with the Boat Show Just over half of the Boat Show visitors came from the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. According to the visitor survey by Kantar TNS, the Boat Show kicked up the ‘boating fever’ of one in four visitors. 39% of visitors said that they would make a purchase decision based on the information received or comparisons made at the show. More than half of visitors (54%) came to make purchases at the show. The most interesting product group at the show was motor boats, with 61% of visitors interested in them. Of the visitor survey respondents, 40% were interested in boating equipment and accessories and 28% in fishing. The visitor survey by Kantar TNS was responded to by 301 Boat Show visitors. The 2019 Helsinki International Boat Show was held from 8 to 17 February 2019 at Messukeskus Helsinki. This is the largest boating event in Northern Europe, organised annually by Messukeskus and commissioned by the Finnish Marine Industries Federation Finnboat. This year, the Helsinki International Boat Show highlighted the activities of the Baltic Sea Action Group. The main partner of the Boat Show is Mercedes-Benz. The 2020 Helsinki International Boat Show will be held from 7 to 16 February 2020 at Messukeskus Helsinki. The next public event at Messukeskus will be GoExpo from 15 to 17 March 2019. Further information: Teija Armanto, Communications Officer, tel. +358 50 376 0804, teija.armanto@messukeskus.com #venemessut www.venemessut.fi Photos of the Boat Show: http://messukeskus.mediabank.fi Messukeskus – a century at the centre of events | 100.messukeskus.com