The 60th Toronto International Boat Show opened Friday for Preview Day, with a 5% attendance increase compared to 2017, which was the previous highest Preview Day on record. There were 2,494 consumer attendees with either Platinum ($100) or Gold ($35) tickets (2,380 in 2017 and 1,973 in 2016). This is up 48% over the three-year average.

 

Congratulations to all exhibitors who've provided input to grow and evolve Preview Day for the show/industry, since its launch in the year 2000. We've received reports that this year's retail sales were the best to date!

 

Opening weekend in 2017 saw the highest attendance on an opening weekend since 2008, but that show was a week later on the calendar, making direct comparisons to 2018 challenging. Crowds were very strong this year - the second highest in the last 5 years, second only to 2017. Saturday's attendance was 13,037, a 14% decrease from the 2017 Saturday of 15,120. There were 12,678 attendees on the Saturday in 2016.

 

Sunday's total attendance was 10,472, down 4% from the 2017 Sunday of 10,955. There were 9,613 attendees on opening Sunday in 2016.

 

Feedback to date is that retail and sales have been stronger than in 2017, despite the lower attendance, year over year, on Saturday and Sunday.

 

This year, we adopted several new strategies in ongoing efforts to make weekday attendance more attractive to attendees, and to disperse some of the weekend crowds over weekdays. New programs include free parking on Preview Day and after 4pm on other days; and a ticket offering of "$5 after 5pm," to encourage weeknight attendance after work, and multiple visits. We look forward to seeing the results of this strategy, and if some of the decrease in Saturday and Sunday's number are a result of the new programs shifting some weekend attendance to weekdays! 

 

Jennifer Valentyne (formerly of Breakfast Television and now a regular on the Q107 morning show) and her daughter, Georgia, visited the boat show on Monday for a "Mother Daughter Date."

 

With cameras in tow, the pair made a contribution and named their boat at the Mercy Ships booth, visited Twiggy the Waterskiing Squirrel, tried their luck at the fish pond, and boarded some dream boats.

 

Look for coverage of their day at MotherDaughterDate.com and on Instagram @MotherDaughterDate.

Paul Pierik of The Boat Warehouse (shown here) won $100 on Sunday when he sold a boat, entered a ballot into the 2018 Buy a Boat & Win program, and his ballot was drawn.

 

A total of 63 boats were sold Monday by dealers who submitted ballots.

 

Monday's winner will be announced in the next newsletter.

 

Click the button below to see how you could win $100, and your customer can win $10,000 toward his or her boat purchase - large or small - at this year's show! 

 

Sunday evening, the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC) celebrated the 20th annual Canadian Safe Boating Awards (CASBA), recognizing the efforts of the public, volunteers, professionals, agencies and organizations who distinguish themselves in the fields of boating safety and environmental stewardship.

 

Congratulations to this year's winners!

By simply downloading the FREE Discover Boating Safety app and entering for a chance to win, one of your customers could receive $10,000 towards the purchase of a boat!

 

The app has all the info, tips and tools needed for boating safely in Canada, including navigation buoys, checklists and emergency contacts.

 

It is free (English / Français / 中文) from the Apple and Google Play stores.

We encourage exhibitors to drop by the north end of Mariner's Marketplace and check out The Boathouse, as we are always on the lookout for new workshop leaders and subject matter experts!

 

A hub of knowledgeable and unbiased advice, it's the go-to place at the show for boaters to "Ask the Experts," join workshops , participate in "how-to" demos, and get tips and resources on all topics related to boating, repairs, service, maintenance and more.

 

• Queen's Cove Marina
• The Rigging Shoppe
• Canada Propeller Inc./Piranha Inc.
• Central Marine

Located in Salon 102 (just west of the Show Office), the Exhibitor Lounge offers a quiet break from the show, FREE internet service, a microwave for your use, soup, salad, sandwiches, a hot dish of the day, and a selection of beverages.

 

Today's hot dish is penne with meatballs for $14.50. 

 

View today's menu.

Today's Sheraton and Westin shuttles will begin running at 8am to accommodate those attending the NMMA Canada Industry Breakfast.

If an emergency requiring paramedics arises, please alert any of the following and explain the location.  

We will radio paramedics and direct them to the location. 

 

If the situation is non-urgent, you can also direct the individual to the Show Office (Salon 103), where paramedics can meet them.