The 54th Toronto International Boat Show has taken over the Direct Energy Centre from January 14 to 22, with more than 1,000 boats, countless boating equipment exhibits, and numerous attractions. Indicators suggest that this year will be one of the most successful since the recession; Saturday alone saw a 21 percent increase in attendance in comparison to last year’s opening day, and sales have been reportedly steady. “People are starting to live for today,” said show manager Cynthia Hare of Canadian Boat Shows Inc.
This year, the organizers made some fundamental changes in the expo, Canada's largest boat show, including moving the dates. Hare pushed the show back seven days to make up for what she termed “calendar creep.” “Every year, it seemed as though we just crept closer to New Year’s,” Hare said. By providing an extra weekend between the holidays and the show, guests could feel “re-energized and ready to go out,” she said.
Also new this year was an additional seminar stage, bringing the total to three. And in all there are more than 140 seminars—from educational talks to adventure stories—attracting attendees from across the country to see certain speakers.
Returning attractions are another important aspect of the show and draw the attention of attendees. Favourites like the Indoor Lake and Great Canadian Fish Tank are crowd-pleasers. As for the media, “they always like new,” Hare said. Such was the case with Mel Fisher’s Treasure, a display of jewelry, coins, and artifacts taken from shipwrecks by professional treasure hunters, which made headlines at local papers.
