Atlantic City show, World Fishing Expo report attendance boosts for 2020

Concluding Sunday, two of NMMA’s east coast boat and sport shows finished their 2020 run with reports of increased attendance and quality show attendees.

First, the Progressive Insurance Atlantic City Boat Show welcomed 41,736 individuals (vs. 39,454 in 2019) to the Atlantic City Convention Center over its five-day span, up 6% over 2019 and 8% over the three-year average (38,740).

The Progressive Insurance World Fishing & Outdoor Exposition, hosted in Suffern, N.Y., also increased in attendance with 16,473 attendees, up 2% compared to 16,217 reported in 2019. 

Highlights across both shows helped drive foot traffic and media interest. In Atlantic City, specifically, the five-day show was jam-packed with activities for its attendees such as the inclusion of the new educational Discover Boating Experience (DBX), Twiggy the Waterskiing Squirrel and Super Thursday specials.

Even more, the show also expanded its annual Career Day in partnership with the NJ SkillsUSA competition. More than 100 students across 7 local schools participated in the day, with 6 official students participating in the SkillsUSA competition – getting a chance to show off their boat maintenance and tech skills in the hopes of representing the state of New Jersey at the nationals in March.

The 2020 Progressive® Insurance World Fishing and Outdoor Expo, taking place at Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY, featured more than 250 fishing, boating and outdoor sports vendors, with more events and seminar speakers this year to cater to both experienced outdoors enthusiasts and newcomers. 

Additional highlights included the fishing simulator, the popular 5,000-gallon Hawg Trough fishing demo tank, ‘Live Birds of Prey’ exhibit, and more. 

The Expo also partnered with local social media influencers, who helped to promote the show through posts and stories, encouraging their followers to attend, including a fishing fan favorite, The Blonde Angler.

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