The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN broker yesterday said he was anticipating a significant “upswing” in boat sales over the next “five to six months”, due to the high level of interest leading up to and during the popular Fort Lauderdale Boat Show this past weekend.

Brooks Russell, principal of the Bahamas Sport Fishing Network (BSFN), said his company had seen its business grow “about 45 per cent” each year, and was “definitely in for an upswing” now moving into the peak sales period.

“We’re heading into the peak sales period right now from about mid-October to April,” he said. “Based on the level of inquires we had seen prior to the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, and during the Boat Show, I’m very optimistic about Boat Sales going forward.

“We’re definitely in for an upswing based on what we saw. It was the best boat show in four years in terms of the amount of people and in terms of boat sales. The amount of interest for the Bahamas was phenomenal. I worked with the Ministry of Tourism at their booth and we had some amazing feedback.”

Mr Russell said: “I just think that from a boat sales perspective it’s positive for the industry to see that people are wanting to spend money in the boating industry.

“For a while boat sales, although OK, had never really peaked much and this was, I think, the start of the boat sales really beginning to take off. For so many years people were kind of hesitant to spend money on boating, but it really gave all of us a boost that people are ready to spend again in the boating industry.

“Locally, the boat sales for the summer, which is a normally slow season for us, was OK. We’re really getting into our peak sales period now. We had a lot of inquires before the Boat Show, people asking us what was on the market here because they wanted to compare what was here versus what is in Fort Lauderdale.

“Now, on the back side of the show, they’re going to see how the boats we have here and the price really compare which what they saw in Fort Lauderdale, so I’m very optimistic about boat sales over the next five to six months,” added Mr Russell.