Boats back on track
The 2021 Southampton International Boat Show was a keenly anticipated event. Two traumatic years had passed since the last Southampton show in 2019 and before that the final curtain had descended on the London Boat Show in 2018. UK exhibitors and boat show visitors had been suffering from withdrawal symptoms for a long time.
However, all has not been at a standstill for the UK marine industry. After a serious slowdown during the first Covid lockdown in spring 2020, new and used boat sales grew by 50% year-on-year between June and December, reports British Marine.
“Last summer we heard about the staycation effect and a boom in sales for leisure marine businesses,” said chief executive Lesley Robinson. “However, I’m delighted that these anecdotal stories are now backed up with empirical data in the new report by Boats Group.”
To augment this considerable new interest in boating, British Marine also launched the #summeronthewater campaign that reached 4.2 million people. This helped promote the ‘Great British Staycation’ and showed how watersports could be the perfect solution to the restrictions
