The Tribune

LOCAL marinas have pledged to "fly the Bahamian flag" at six major US boat shows over the next five months, as this nation bids to become the main offshore location for American boaters.

Having just participated in the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) is now setting its sights on Florida's Stuart Boat Show, which will be held from January 12-14, 2018.

"The average person may not be aware of the significance of these shows", says ABM president Stephen Kappeler, "but boaters value them for the hundreds of thousands of people they attract, most of whom are of above-average means.

"The Fort Lauderdale show, which we just attended in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation (MoTA), attracts attendance from 52 countries. Forty per cent of those attendees are C-level business executives, or business owners.

"Of the 105,000 visitors estimated to have attended, more than half of them were from outside Florida, and many of them arrived on the 1,000 private planes attracted to Fort Lauderdale for the event. That is the type of consumer we seek to attract to the Bahamas."

Preparing for the Stuart Boat Show, the ABM has identified an opportunity created by a new large yacht repair facility, and new customs clearing facility, scheduled to open there early next year.

These plans will boost Stuart's appeal to US boaters, since it is the point they all use to exit the Intra-Country Waterway from as far north as Chicago. Thousands of boats headed to the Bahamas pass through Stuart from Florida's west coast and the Gulf of Mexico, and the enhanced clearance facilities will see them return to Stuart to clear for re-entry to the US. They will no longer have to take the longer way back through Fort Pierce or Palm Beach.

After Stuart, the ABM and Ministry of Tourism will attend the Trawler Fest at Riviera Beach in January 2018; the Yacht Brokers Show and the Miami Boat Show in February; and the Palm Beach Boat Show in March.

The ABM recently teamed up with Dockwa, a marina management company offering software solutions, to launch a booking and reservation service for boaters - a first for the Bahamas.

Dockwa has also acquired Marinas.com, another major marina booking site.

This combined resource is now available to the ABM's 29 marina members and will expand their marketing reach, providing better customer experience, increased operational efficiency and free-up time for marina staff.

The reservation management system allows users of the ABM website to track all their reservations and collect payment with a user-friendly software interface.