The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN boat/yacht broker expects the “fantastic” turnout at the weekend’s PalmCay Boat Show will translate into significant sales over the next few months, telling Tribune Business the 2013 version generated ‘10 times’ the amount of interest compared to last year.

Brooks Russell, marina consultant at Palm Cay, and the Bahamas Sport Fishing Network’s (BSFN) principal, estimated that around 2,000 persons attended its Boat Show at Palm Cay this past weekend.

“We had a fantastic show. We had a great turnout with probably around 2,000 people or more show up,” Mr Russell said.

“We had boats on display from $10,000 to $290,000. All the vendors had their products on display. A lot of vendors were able to sell products and had a lot of interest in their products.

“We had a ton of interest in the boats we had for sale. A lot of people were able to see what kind of boat they wanted and look at the different varieties. The turnout was great and it just again brought awareness to the fact that we do have great boats for sale in the Bahamas, and an industry with huge potential that the Bahamas can take advantage of.”

Mr Russell previously told Tribune Business he had seen an 80 per cent boat sales upswing for 2013 to-date, coming off the success of the inaugural boat show last year.

He added:”We had 10 times the amount of interest in boats at this show than we did at the last show in October. With that much more genuine interest, I think we are going to see a sales growth over the next couple of months into the boating season.

“People understand that from what was showcased over the weekend, we don’t have to take the time any more to go to Florida; we have boats here that we can look at, and in two or three days purchase and be done with it.”

Mr Russell said there was tremendous growth potential for The Bahamas marine and boating industry.

“The potential for this industry to grow is unlimited when you think of our proximity to Florida and the amount of income that is generated from the marine industry. With a strong focus, this can be a very profitable revenue stream for the Bahamas,” he added.