Wales might have had a relatively low profile as a sailing destination until relatively recently, but that is changing very fast - with two boat shows planned for 2007.
Wales Watersports International had a strong presence at the recent London Boat Show, where it was said that the Catching the Wave initiative, launched by the Wales Assembly two years ago with a strategy to increase the value of marine watersports tourism in Wales by 40 per cent to £200 million by 2010 was on target.
One of the exhibitors on the stand at ExCeL was the South Wales Boat Show, launched in 2006. Organiser Ben Sutcliffe said he was planning to build on the great success of the inaugural event with an even bigger and better show in 2007.
The 2007 South Wales Boat Show will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 15th to 17th, once again at Margam Park, just east of Swansea.
“It is an amazing venue that we can comfortably grow into in future years,” said Ben. “It has superb views of the Bristol Channel and the South Wales Boat Show is ideally situated. Margam Park is only minutes away from Junction 8 of the M4 and between Cardiff and Swansea.”
He said there had been an explosion of water-borne activity in South Wales since the Cardiff Bay redevelopment, and a recent survey had shown that Wales had a higher percentage of the population with an interest in watersports than anywhere else in the UK.
Ben added that the show was being staged on the same weekend as last year, with the Friday added due to popular demand. He said that “realistic” admission prices -£6 for adults, £3 for children and £15 for families - reflected the organisers' enthusiasm for the event to be a success.
“Last year's show was such a success we will be expecting 15,000 to 20,000 visitors,” he said. There would be all types of craft from jet-skis and canoes to sailing yachts and powerboats, and he expected the show to appeal to young and old alike.
Once again there would be a “get afloat, try a boat” event - last year some 500 people had a go on dinghies, jet bikes and canoes on the lake in the park.
A new attraction for this year will be a ten-berth mini marina, thanks to the support of Versa Dock, said Ben. “It has been confirmed we can raise the water by nearly two feet, giving an average depth of nearly five feet in the shallow end.”
Feedback from exhibitors was that more than £1 million of business was done by exhibitors over the two days of the show last year, and he is confident that, with an extra day, more exhibitors and more visitors, the total will be even greater this year.
The saying goes that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and after the success of last year's first South Wales Boat Show, a rival event is being launched in 2007. The Welsh Boat Show, to be held at Carmarthen, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday May 5th to 7th claims to be “the first all Wales Boat Show.”
Located “in the heart of the South Wales boating and fishing fraternity” at the United Counties showground, the new show can offer ample parking, indoor arena, and a seated grandstand overlooking an arena to feature casting and fly fishing.
“The show will cater for every aspect of being on or near the water in Wales and the UK, with special emphasis on Welsh boat manufacturing,” says managing director Simon Ashton. “There will be clearly themed areas for sea fishing, diving, chandlery, clothing, electronics, magazines and education etc.”
Can both shows survive and prosper, so close to each other? Or is there a danger that they will split potential exhibitors and visitors, as many people fear will be the case if the planned Earls Court Boat Show goes ahead in competition with the London Boat Show at Excel?
The irony is that while two shows are planned for South Wales, it was announced this week that another regional boat show, on the East Coast, has been axed.
The Lowestoft Boat Show was launched three years ago and had grown considerably, last year attracting more than 120 exhibitors and thousands of visitors.
But following the retirement of show organiser Graham Kinnersley, no one has come forward to take over the running of the event.
Mr Kinnersley said the mounting bureaucracy involved with staging the show, including health and safety and insurance, had become too much to cope with.
"Last year's show was a success, but I'm 70 now and I've had enough of the pressure. I've had several people telling me they'd be sad to see it go," he said.
Since deciding to stop running the show after last year's event, he had been trying to find someone to take it on.
There is a possibility that Lowestoft's Haven Marina will host the event in 2008. Manager Sarah Hanna said: "At this stage it is a case of watch this space. It is very early days. We certainly couldn't have done it this year,
but we are looking at possibly starting afresh next year."
For more information visit www.southwalesboatshow.co.uk and
www.welshboatshow.co.uk
