NEWS - ACCOLADES CONTINUE FOR 2010 SCIBS

The 22nd Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show (SCIBS) continued to draw accolades in the 48 hours after the event’s closure, event organisers said. 

The four-day show finished last Sunday, drawing 424 exhibitors with 576 boats and watercraft on display.

Maritimo released a statement on Monday reporting an ‘excellent’ result for the Show, SCIBS said.

“Sanctuary Cove is a strong gauge for the market and it has certainly picked up. We have achieved our best result for three years,” said Maritimo marketing director Luke Durman.

Fixtech’s Troy Clifford described the 2010 Show as “the best result Fixtech has had in three years.”

“We picked up some new boatbuilders from NSW and also managed to break into the lightweight construction industry with leads,” he said. The Gold Coast company said it also met up with internationals at the Show with some promising sales leads.

SCIBS general manager Barry Jenkins said the final visitor tally was 39,019, which is up on the 2009 Show.

“This is a softer result than our average over five years, partly attributable to Friday’s heavy rain, which fell from midday. Our Friday figures were down on previous years,” said Jenkins.

“However, the pavilion exhibitors enjoyed some very strong sales results during the rain,” he added.

Organisers said this was echoed by Raymarine exhibiting in Pavilion C.

“The 2010 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show was a runaway success for Raymarine. The new E wide hybrid-touch MFD (Multi Function Display) drew customers to our stand like bees to a honeypot,” commented Mark Leach, sales and marketing manager for Raymarine Australia.

“Despite having nine Raymarine staff on the stand every day, there were times when we simply could not deal with all the customer-enquiry we had,” he said.

“The event has a very positive economic impact on the region as exhibitors and visitors book accommodation, transport and flights,” said Jenkins.

“International and national publicity exposure is enormous with close to $2.5 million worth of publicity at this point with more to come.”

SCIBS said exhibitors are already inquiring about 2011 dates.

Upcoming SCIBS show dates are Thursday, May 19 to Sunday, May 22 in 2011, and dates for 2012 are Thursday, May 24 to Sunday, May 27.

Photo: SCIBS 2010.