“This is the biggest Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in the event’s 54-year history,” Efrem “Skip” Zimbalist III, chairman and CEO of Show Management, said Thursday morning at the opening media breakfast.
At 3 million square feet, “this is by far the biggest footprint in the history of the show,” Zimbalist said. Show revenue — boosted by healthy exhibitor turnout and more product on display — is also the largest ever, he said. “We’re really gratified by the exhibitor response.”
Nate Fristoe, of RRC Associates, a Boulder, Colo., research and planning group, talked about the first phase of a study commissioned by the Marine Industries Association of South Florida, which owns FLIBS, and the Active Interest Media Marine Group to develop a model for identifying “key levers” for translating participation in boating into passionate engagement in the sport and eventually boat ownership.