10,000 attend Boats Afloat Show
SEATTLE – The Lake Union Boats Afloat Show in Seattle announced recently that attendance at its show jumped by more than four percent this year, recording a turnout of more than 10,000 people.
“The 2008 Boats Afloat show was one of the best-attended shows that we’ve had in recent years,” said Allen Powell, CPYB, president of the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association. “Attendees that we talked to were excited about boating, well educated on product and upbeat about the economic prospects in the state. This is an important bellwether for the recreational boating industry.”
The annual show, which is said to be the largest floating boat show on the West Coast, featured more than 260 power and sailing vessels displayed by yacht brokers and dealers from Washington, Oregon, California, Florida and British Columbia, Canada. Yachts on display included a 143-foot mega yacht – one of nine over 80 feet, and over 100 new and previously owned yachts in the 40- to 60-foot range.
Organizers attribute the strong turnout to a strong Canadian dollar bringing buyers south to Washington State, and they noted that attendees from 14 states across the country, saying that the “strong attendance throughout the five-day show reinforced the buoyancy of one of the Northwest’s most important industries.”
“The quality and depth of new and previously owned inventory available right now in the Northwest is one of the best that we’ve seen in recent years,” said Bonnie Bergquist, director of the Lake Union Boats Afloat Show.
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