The Boat Show dresses in luxury to establish itself among the major European fairs

More than 500 boats, large lengths, luxury yachts, a new village, Michelin-starred gastronomy, and major brands have taken over Port Vell in the return of the Boat Show. After a hiatus edition due to the America's Cup, the event has once again filled the port with a renewed air and a new focus: to attract an audience with greater purchasing power and more professional. All as a declaration of intent, and with one objective: to consolidate itself as an essential event in the European nautical calendar and climb positions among the major fairs.

With more than 200 exhibitors and 130 boats in the water, the show will be until Sunday a showcase of vessels of all types and sizes, as well as a stage for conferences linked to nautical within the Àgora Port, and also for presentations of new models, from sailboats and motorboats to catamarans and large yachts, also including everything related to navigation, whether accessories, services, or equipment.

With a new distribution and more space, this renovated edition of the show extends from the Moll de la Fusta to part of the Espanya, Dipòsit, and Sota Muralla quays, to which the Moll de Barcelona is added for the first time, recently opened to the public next to the World Trade Center. Numerous visitors stroll along the quays, some browsing among the models, and others go more directly, looking for the precise location of the vessel they already have in their sights.

Greetings in various languages and accents mix with the sound of the sea and the boats, which display a great diversity of angles and shapes, with a tendency to widen the hull, modern lines, and a decided commitment to comfort. To not miss any, visitors can move between the show's quays with a free shuttle, which connects Marina Port Vell with the large yachts docked at Moll de Barcelona, a few meters from the new village and its high-end gastronomic proposal through Rafa Zafra, framed within the show's commitment to refocus towards a more exclusive audience.

"The change of focus allows us to better approach this public," defends Albert Cardona from the boat sales company Hermanos Guasch. "Boats are aimed at a very specific public, and our goal is to close sales and generate potential clients," remarks Cardona, who praises the new direction of the show: "There are times when you attend to 80% of curious people with no intention of buying, and we have to reverse that figure." Dedicating too much time to operations that cannot lead to a sale represents a handicap for this type of company, since "the cost and logistics of moving boats to a fair is complicated."

From the boat sales and rental company Med Cat Yachts, José Antonio Rojo corroborates this: "Bringing the boats here can cost between 40,000 and 50,000 euros." However, "being in Barcelona is a commitment," highlights the company's manager. The Barcelona show, in fact, is positioned as the fourth nautical fair in Europe, behind Dusseldorf, Cannes, and Genoa, and now wants to climb positions to get closer to other reference events and establish itself as a key point for both sellers and buyers. And although this sale is the objective of most exhibitors, some come to the show with other purposes, as does the Faculty of Nautical Studies of Barcelona (FNB), of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). With a sailboat that was donated to the faculty half a century ago and which students use for their training, the FNB lands at the show to inspire nautical vocations.

The show doesn't end on the water: hundreds of companies exhibit dozens of boats and much more along the docks. From sails to heated boat covers, maritime rescue equipment, engines, and even crockery and wellington boots; everything a boat might need to sail and for everything that implies doing so, whether related to maintenance or leisure. Underwater scooters, jet skis, and innovative design mats like those from Bayfloat fill the Moll de la Fusta alongside the boats and all kinds of accessories, such as those from the German distributor SVB.

"We are in Barcelona to continue making ourselves known," they assure from the company. The same is intended by the company Arcos de Popa Veleros, which designs and manufactures these structures from Catalonia to place them at the stern of boats. "For 15 years we have lived off the French market, but now it has drastically reduced, and we are entering the Spanish and Portuguese market." To give strength to this entry, they attend the Nautical, applauding its refocus towards an audience with more purchasing power: "For us, it is preferable to attend to ten potential clients in five days than to 100 curious people with no intention of buying."

It is a vision shared by other exhibitors, such as Miquel Vilanova and Oriol Santos, promoters of Marconn. The company targets ports and marinas with its smart service towers, which give a new dimension to these structures, which provide basic supplies to boats docked at the piers. The structure, which connects with an app to monitor consumption, is made with recycled products that change according to the model and range from bottle caps to ghost nets recovered from the sea.

This year, the exhibition offer of the show is complemented by the new village, which includes an exclusive restaurant with a menu designed by chef Rafa Zafra, who has two Michelin stars. Luxury connects with more luxury next to the village, with the large lengths of the Moll de Barcelona. Between both spaces, Terminal Drassanes hosts Àgora Port until Saturday, as a professional connection point with an extensive program of conferences, round tables, and presentations linked to the maritime field.

Near these professionals and the most exclusive visitors who approach the village, exhibitors of large yachts hope to attract an audience interested in buying throughout the show. From Marivent Yachts, Álvaro Alegre highlights the importance of nautical in the Catalan economy, beyond the buying and selling of boats, and which goes "from skippers to distributors and maintenance services, with qualified jobs."

To continue boosting this sector and highlighting its value, the show aims to continue positioning itself among the major nautical events, with an offer that goes beyond water and with which it proposes to look at the main European shows eye to eye. The first edition of the renovated Nautical Show —the 62nd of the event— thus arrives as a warning to sailors: the Barcelona show is determined to gain positions on the international trade fair scene.