THE 25th anniversary Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show (SCIBS) will welcome 39 first-time exhibitors to this year’s event, running from May 23 – 26.
Among the 39 exhibitors making their SCIBS debut are Arnold’s Boat Shop, Dutch Sloop and Pantaenius Australia who will be accompanied by some of the biggest names in the boating business.
Owner and managing director of the recently launched online-based Arnold’s Boat Shop Arnold le Rutte said SCIBS was a not-to-be-missed promotional opportunity in the business’ crucial inaugural year.
“We started planning the business two years ago and as part of our industry research we attended the Boat Show last year as visitors, which made us realise it was something we wanted to be a part of,” he said.
“In order for us to build awareness of our brand it’s really important that we position ourselves at the coalface of the marine industry – with SCIBS being one of the biggest boat shows in the country, we couldn’t pass it up.
“As an online-based company, this is the perfect opportunity to get in front of our clients and suppliers and network with industry stalwarts.”
As well as the new exhibitors, some of the marine industry’s biggest names have joined the SCIBS line-up, including Westport, Horizon Motor Yachts, Maritimo and Queensland Marine Centre.
SCIBS exhibition manager Harry Davis said it was an exciting time for Boat Show as a mixture of new, past and returning exhibitors continued to secure bookings.
The pace here for organisers is picking up more and more every week and it’s great to see exhibitor bookings are gaining momentum as well,” he said.
“There’s a feeling of confidence re-emerging within the boating industry as we see exhibitors who haven’t been for a few years also returning.
“It’s encouraging to see some of the big names in the marine industry are signed up.”
“We’re urging exhibitors to sign up as soon as possible as we have a number of deadlines to meet and we want to ensure they benefit from the full SCIBS experience.”
A number of past exhibitors will be welcomed back this year including Wichard and Profurl, which has positioned itself as a world leader in marine fittings.
Wichard and Profurl director Gaelle Marks said the business was looking forward to coming back to the show with a range of new products for their exclusive traders-only client base.
“We feel the marine industry is gathering pace this year and that’s one reason why we’re returning,” she said.
“We also have new products secured which were not available in 2012 so that’s really pushed us along as well.
“We want to get out there again and really show our client base as well as potential boat owners what Wichard and Profurl have to offer and we see SCIBS as an opportunity to do that.”
Tickets for SCIBS are available online from www.sanctuarycoveboatshow.com or through Ticketmaster. Visit www.ticketmaster.com.au For more information on SCIBS, visit www.sanctuarycoveboatshow.com.
