Valencia Boat Show Announces Dates for 2020

The President of the Union of Nautical Companies, Isabel Gil, has announced the 2020 dates of next year’s Valencia Boat Show which will be held between October 28^th and November 1^st, again with the joint organisation of employer stakeholders and La Marina de València, and with a professionalised management.

“We have already announced the dates for 2020 so that exhibitors can decide whether or not to come. In fact, I think they will all repeat, and more are going to commit. And for next year we are going to repeat the format and we are going to improve,” said General Director of La Marina de València, Vicent Llorens.

“Consorcio Valencia 2007 will make available to the show the Tinglado nº2 which will be totally rehabilitated, as well as the building of the old dry dock, which will also be in use. We will have areas of the highest quality and very emblematic of La Marina de València, because they are historic buildings. La Marina is currently at 50% of what the show could ask for. This show can be doubled both in the water and on land without causing problems to other activities that take place in La Marina.”

“The format of open area and closed area is confirmed. And I think that for all open and cultural activities, the collaboration of La Marina de València is very important. As for the sector, I think we have a lot of growth capacity in the area of catamarans, fishing and nautical tourism,” said Nacho Gomez-Zarzuela, Director of the Valencia Boat Show. 

The Valencia Boat Show has recently concluded the 2019 edition with the clear confirmation that the new commitment to combine the professional area and the open area has been a great success. The event has set a record number of visitors since it began to be held in the autumn and featuring new boats, with a total of 22.300 visitors over the five days of the event. 

Besides the increase in the number of exhibitors, the greater quality of offer has also been outstanding, confirmed by the companies themselves present in the Boatowners Area, which received visitors from Madrid, Murcia, Andalusia, northern Spain and the Canary Islands, in addition to a good number of international clients.

The Valencia Boat Show ends this 11^th edition with a very positive result: 94 exhibiting companies, more than 90 boats afloat and dry, 28.000 m2 of exhibition area and a record number of visitors. “We have one of the best venues in the world to host a boat show. The first objective of this year was to strengthen the presence of exhibitors and increase last year’s figure, which we have achieved, having almost reached one hundred exhibitors. I have to thank all the exhibitors who have believed in us. Their trust has allowed us to have the necessary resources for this event to go well,” Gomez-Zarzuela. 

“The feedback received by all exhibitors has been very positive, as well as by members of the Union of Nautical Companies that have not exhibited. I think the marine industry has been very well represented at this show. And the positioning of Valencia as an event has been extremely positive and I think the climate has been very favourable. Valencia has shown what it is capable of doing and why we have 300 days of sunshine a year,” added President of the Union of Nautical Companies (UEN), Isabel Gil. 

For his part, Llorens emphasised the strong points of the show: “In addition to the exhibition pool, the possibility of testing boats at sea and the fact that it is the show that closes the circuit of the Mediterranean season, La Marina offers the city of Valencia, which is a very interesting destination to come with the excuse of the show, as it offers world class catering, hotels, shops and cultural and leisure activities. 

The Valencia Boat Show has achieved this year its twofold aim of confirming itself as an event of reference in terms of turnover for the sale of new boats and as a show that brings the sea closer to citizens. “We know that exhibitors have made good contacts this year and have closed sales and that there are operations underway. It should be borne in mind that an important part of the annual turnover of many companies is generated in this show,” said Gomez-Zarzuela. “In parallel, we wanted to convey to people that there are many ways to enjoy the sea. And thanks to a combination of collaborations we were able to offer nautical activities for the public.”

“The idea this year was to encourage everyone to have a reason to approach the sea, La Marina, the world of sailing, regardless of whether they were interested in buying a boat or not. We have given people a reason to come, be it gastronomy, music, culture, innovation or sport itself,” concluded Llorens. 

Images: Valencia Boat Show