boot Düsseldorf is Back

Outside the cavernous halls and enormous grounds of Messe Düsseldorf, it was cold, foggy and wet. But inside, the atmosphere was warm and inviting, with thousands upon thousands of visitors entering the halls of one of the world’s biggest boat shows, Boot Düsseldorf 2023.

The show is an enormous and diverse boating event, and it finally got back on its feet after a three-year hiatus.

The other major European shows, mostly based in the Med during the late summer, came back to life 2021, thanks to the low Covid infection rates in Europe in Summer. Boot Düsseldorf, the winter-based show of Northern Europe, wasn’t so lucky. Held indoors in the middle of winter when infection rates tended to be higher and restrictions tended to be harsher, Boot Düsseldorf had to wait till 2023 to open its doors once more.

Nearly 237,000 visitors from over 100 countries attended the 2023 edition of Boot Düsseldorf, which had over 1,500 exhibitors spread over 16 halls. The 2020 edition saw over 250,000 visitors attending.

The mood was buoyant, as exhibitors were keen to get in front of potential new clients, and northern Europe’s boating enthusiasts finally had “their” show back.

The 25,000sqm Hall 6, one of the main focal points of the show, featured the impressive display of large yachts on hard stands – it is a sight that has become synonymous with the show.

While in-person events may have suffered during Covid, the yacht industry has been booming and the world’s top builders have been touting order backlogs. Yet, there was no apparent shortage of enthusiasm for the show by builders, and clients were lining up to get a glimpse of new yachts worth tens of millions of Euros each.

Exhibitors reported healthy interest and visitation to their stands.

Beyond the yachts and high-performance boats, there were plenty of equipment suppliers. Among them were Saltwater Stone clients YANMAR Marine International, VETUS and Smartgyro on an impressive, combined stand with other brands Maxwell and Flexofold.

While Boot Düsseldorf may be more oriented to boating consumers, there were plenty of DIYers and industry people on hand to learn about the latest in clever new boating tech designed to reduce energy consumption, improve efficiency or drop noise levels.

The show had a particularly strong focus on marine conservation, with a new Blue Innovation Dock, letting presenters showcase their newest “green” technologies. Electrification is a key watchword in boating these days, as builders try to reduce the emissions and the noise from their products.

As with every year, Boot Düsseldorf draws considerable media interest, as yacht builders offer world premieres at the event. Interest was running high, with the likes of International Boat Industry (IBI) News, Marine Industry News and Marine Business World carrying daily updates from the show. Media meetings secured for our clients at the show included journalists and editors from a wide range of countries, such as Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and UK, with press enquiries generated from many more.

The show stands out among European boating events by offering something of interest to almost everyone. While Mediterranean shows focus on high-priced luxury living, Boot Düsseldorf offers a marine lifestyle experience for almost any budget. The latest products and ideas in canoes, kayaks, safety equipment, stand up paddleboards, surfboards and more, were all on display.

One of the busiest exhibit areas was the Scuba diving and destinations section, which covered two halls. Here, excited visitors could be seen planning their next vacations, whether to the Azores in the Atlantic, or Palau in the Pacific.

The sailing hall featured an enormous pool with a raft of fans providing an artificial wind for kids to learn to sail on Optimist dinghies. The line ups were long and the advice from everyone was: “get here early to get a spot!”

Boot Düsseldorf 2024 starts January 20, 2024