Tour grows interest in boating

CHICAGO – The Discover Boating and Fishing Tour presented by Water Works Wonders has exposed nearly 200,000 people to the messages of boating and fishing during its first three months on the road, according to a press release today from the National Marine Manufacturers Association.

Interest in boating appears to be growing, if the numbers revealed as part of a survey being conducted in conjunction with the tour are accurate. Of the more than 14,000 people who have responded so far, 62 percent said they would like to buy a boat in the next one to two years – compared to 44 percent in a 2003 survey.

“We have already had more conversations with qualified prospective boaters than we did during all of last year, and this year’s tour is just now entering into the best part of its seven-month schedule,” said Discover Boating director Steve Tadd, who points to the number of state fairs still scheduled for the tour. “State fairs have proven to be the highest attended events for the mobile tour, and we expect our attendance numbers to be even greater over the next three months.”

The types of boats people are interested in ran the gamut of boat lines, but most (40 percent) would like to buy a fishing boat. Ski/wakeboard (35 percent), runabouts (25 percent) pontoon/deckboats (23 percent) and sailboats (16 percent) were also popular categories of boats, NMMA said.

Other interesting data collected through the survey include:
– 73 percent of respondents do not currently own a boat.
– 74 percent are between the ages of 25 and 54.
– 63 percent have a household income of more than $50,000.
– 57 percent are male.

One of the goals of the tour is to collect consumer demographic data, which is gathered by offering attendees the opportunity to win a Bayliner 175 or Hunter 146 sailboat by filling out a quick survey. The data gathered by the surveys, which have been completed by more than 14,000 attendees, indicated the tour is reaching out to the right people, NMMA said.

“We will share the marketing information we collect with tour sponsors and local participating dealers to help with post-event marketing opportunities,” said NMMA Integrated Marketing director John Marcinek.

Results from this data will be made available in September.
For more information on the Discover Boating and Fishing Tour presented by Water Works Wonders, contact Tadd at (312) 946-6246; stadd@nmma.org.

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