Hands-on activities in diving, sailing, surfing and paddling are crowd pullers.
Halfway through its nine-day run, boot Düsseldorf is heading in the right direction despite the unfavorable conditions. As the first water sports event of the year, it is a source of inspiration and ideas for the entire industry. Exhibiting companies report that in the first five days they have already concluded many successful deals with international customers. Visitors were also impressed by the range of motorboats, sailing yachts, diving equipment and the many travel offers at the seaside destination. The hands-on activities for diving (Hall 12), sailing (Hall 15), surfing (Hall 17) and paddling (Hall 14) are real crowd pullers.
boot Director Petros Michelidakis is very positive about the show so far and sums up the mood in the halls: “In numerous discussions over the past few days, it has become very clear that the industry is reaching its target groups here in Düsseldorf. Many boats are being sold directly from the stand here at the show. In addition, the diving tower and the action pool make it possible to test the latest accessories and boards on the spot. boot is once again proving its strength in the international trade fair market”.
Michael Müller, CEO of Bavaria Yachts, is equally positive about the show so far: “We are delighted with the consistently positive feedback from boot visitors about our five motor yachts and six sailing yachts, which we are presenting in Hall 1 and Hall 16. And of course we were particularly pleased to win the European Yacht of the Year Award for our German premiere, the BAVARIA C46, on the first weekend. That was a great start.”
boot 2024 is characterized by its high quality and the great interest shown by visitors in buying, chartering and investing. They are extremely satisfied with the diverse and innovative range of 1,500 exhibitors. Visitor Evelyn Göbel: “My husband and I are delighted with the range of products and the great atmosphere in the exhibition halls. We came to Düsseldorf mainly for the huge selection of motor yachts. The boat premieres in Halls 1, 5 and 6 are simply fantastic. It’s great that we were also able to find out about so many charter options, marinas and holiday destinations in the destination seaside.”
Due to the winterly weather on the first weekend and the start of the rail strike, visitor numbers were down on last year at the halfway point. In total, more than 100,000 international water sports enthusiasts from almost 100 countries had travelled to the show by Wednesday evening.
Media interest is also particularly high. 1,889 media representatives from 105 countries – which means that boot 2024 has already equalled the final result of boot 2023 – had been accredited for boot 2024 by Wednesday evening, and many of them were impressed by the almost complete presence of the industry’s global players. Richard Michell of Canadian Boating summed it up in a brief statement: “The best boat show in the world”.
