Melbourne Boat Show has exceeded all expectations to achieve recession-defying attendance figures and spectacular sales for exhibitors.

“Recession? What recession?” was a frequent comment by exhibitors, many of whom were beginning to run low on stocks as early as half-way through the Show.

Total attendance was 37,634 for the five-day Show.

BIA General Manager Robert Coco said the strong attendance and extraordinary sales showed that the Show and its exhibitors were offering the public very much what they wanted.

“We are getting to the core of our boat buying public, making the Show a huge success,” he said.

“Victoria’s trailer boat market really fired up, along with the fishing and marine recreation markets.

“I’ve never seen so many happy exhibitors. If this is a sign of things to come, the year looks bright for Sydney and the other shows around Australia over the next few months.”

One of the Show’s great successes was Accessory Alley, which created a “village shopping strip” atmosphere where show goers could see (and buy) everything they wanted in an easy, leisurely stroll down a broad avenue of displays.

Throughout Accessory Alley and in the main hall boat displays, exhibitors reported a strong trend towards larger individual purchases in all categories.

“I heard countless stories of people making larger-than-expected purchases or lower-cost items, and even the boat dealers reported a shift in buyer preference towards slightly more upscale models,” Mr Coco said.

“In the boat area, it was people buying the next model up instead of buying the base models with a view to adding equipment later, and in the equipment and accessory area, many people were going for quality gear rather than budget items.

“There were also reports of many people being ‘on a mission’ to buy a certain item, having seen it in our pre-Show publicity and set their hearts on it - and several stands had an unexpectedly high proportion of people paying with cash rather than cards or credit.

“Nobody was quite sure of why people were buying with such enthusiasm, but one thing was certain: doom and gloom definitely took a holiday for the 2009 Melbourne Boat Show.”