23 Mar 2012

Palm Beach opens and may be joined by new US yacht shows

By Esther Barney

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The Palm Beach International Boat Show (PBIBS) opened its doors for business yesterday with an unprecedented number of superyachts on display for the event, now in its 27th year. The in-water show has a mixture of yachts on display, for both charter and sale, and ranging in size from smaller RIBS and fishing boats up to the 61m Benetti M/Y Diamonds Are Forever, launched in late 2011, arriving at the docks today. The largest yacht to have ever displayed here, she will sit alongside many of the bigger yachts on display in the new Palm Harbour Marina, which has extended the show by 40 slips to the north end.

The last of the major shows of the season before the summer heat engulfs Florida, PBIBS has a footfall of about 50,000, bringing an economic injection of $75m to the city. Although there are fewer visitors than other yacht shows in Florida, PBIBS has a reputation for serious potential buyers attending, whether from the neighbouring Palm Beach island, from other parts of Florida, or the rest of the US.



Yesterday, before the official opening of the show, the mayor of the City of West Palm Beach, Hon. Jeri Muoio, spoke of the drive from the marine industry as well as local representatives to turn West Palm Beach into a world-class marine city similar to Monaco or Barcelona.

The current economic impact of the marine industry to Palm Beach is $2bn, said Mike Antheil, the executive director of the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, which increases to $19bn at a Florida-wide level.

In addition to the yachts on display, there are 500 PBIBS exhibitors along the waterfront, nestled among the palm trees and in a large tent situated at the bottom of the main throng of Clematis Street; the show has a more intimate feel than the much more expansive equivalents held in Fort Lauderdale in October and Miami in February.

All three shows are run by Show Management, and each has a different audience and niche. PBIBS has a fraction of the value of yachts and accessories on display at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS), at $350m compared with $3bn, but it has been gaining momentum in recent years.

Just before the opening of the show, SuperyachtNews.com spoke with Efrem "Skip" Zimbalist III, CEO of Show Management, about the momentum and focus of the major three Florida yacht shows in the company's stable, as well as future plans for expansion elsewhere:

"If you look at our three big shows, Fort Lauderdale is the international show with two focuses, both to sell boats and a business-to-business focus like at METS in Holland. Miami show is particularly strong in drawing audiences from Central and South America. Palm Beach is very strong for US buyers, with an increasing number of international buyers.

"A lot of Fortune 500 CEOs have houses here and people who own superyachts love to come to the area for its beauty and cultural activities; there are marinas and shipyard facilities as well as great restaurants and hotels. It is gathering momentum as a marine destination.

"At FLIBS 2011 we had 200 boats of 80 feet and up, at Palm Beach this year we have 140. Most of the major European or international superyacht buyers do just one show in the US, which is FLIBS. We are working to encourage them to come to Palm Beach and Miami too. We would love to see more European yards at more US shows.

"We are actively looking to introduce more shows to the US, moving north. Our specialty is in-water shows and we are looking for great marinas where there are great audiences and the infrastructure around to attract visitors. We are looking to the north-east and we are also looking to the south, to Central and South America.

"We are close to starting a show in Central America in the next year or so. The drive is from the manufacturers telling us that they are doing a lot of business in that region and there are a large number of customers who, either for the size of boat or their preference, would rather have a local show; those buying yachts of 50 or 60 feet, prefer to buy them in their home market rather than ship them over."

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