A busy closing weekend boosts visitor numbers at the London International Boat Show
A busy closing weekend helped the London International Boat Show break the 100,000 visitors barrier.
Despite a quiet start to the week the aisles were visibly busier over the weekend, as reported by MBM’s forumites . Over 50,000 people visited the show over the final four days, bringing the official overall attendance up to 112,000, down a respectable 12% from last year.
Organisers attribute the show’s relative success to the “excellent features, improved layouts and enormous range of exhibitors”. And although numbers are down, in these trying times there is a general consensus that things could have been a lot worse.
Andrew Williams, managing director of National Boat Shows (NBS), said, “Over the past 10 days we’ve enjoyed plentiful media interest, positive feedback from both our visitors and exhibitors and a healthy flow of visitors, with an increase in the North Hall, which was our aim.”
The show certainly succeeded in increasing footfall in the North Hall, with a mix of chandlery and entertainment proving a real draw for the crowds. It remains to be seen if next year organisers can extend this creativity to the South Hall and create more of a focal point to tempt visitors in.
