Australian Boat Shows join the cancellation list - Australian MarineBusinessWorld.com newsletter
by Peter Rendle 26 Mar 2020 14:00 PDT
Eyachts at the Sydney Boat Show 2019 © Eyachts
With the COVID-19 virus causing chaos the world over and the announcement that the Olympic Games had been postponed for 12 months, it came as no surprise to receive the announcement from the Boating Industry Association of Australia that the Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide Boat Shows have been cancelled for 2020.
The Board and Executive of the BIA is constantly monitoring developments related to COVID-19 in the public domain, in communication with government and in discussion with members. Last week, the BIA took the decision to hold the show dates for Sydney and Brisbane and set a contingency date for Adelaide in late September. This was based on the best available information at that time. The progress of the spread of the virus over the last seven days has seen the forecasts change, and based on the feedback from members and in the interests of certainty the Board has resolved to cancel the Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide Boat Shows for 2020. Exhibitors will be offered a refund of any deposits held by the BIA.
There is absolutely no doubt that the current crisis will have a serious effect on all industries and companies will need to become innovative in their marketing direction during this period. As a digital media platform, we are in the enviable position of being able to operate virtually unscathed. We are more than happy to run the marine industry news via the MarineBusinessWorld website to convey what initiatives are being put in place to overcome the exceptional circumstances we find ourselves in.
While travel and group gatherings have been severely curtailed there is nothing to stop potential buyers from seeking information online and we are more than happy to explore ways for industry members to convey their product news via postings on our sites via text, multiple pictures and video.
Maritimo, one of Australia's largest boat builders, have advised some of the actions they are taking to overcome the current situation. They advise, "as the world continues to face unprecedented times amidst the current global health crisis, Maritimo is continuing production and pushing ahead with its exciting plans for 2020 involving new model releases and an action-packed promotional schedule.
It is in times like these that the Maritimo team believes it is more important than ever to stay on track and continue to function as normally as possible. The World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines strongly promote social distancing as a way to help slow the spread of the virus and this has seen large numbers of events and activities cancelled internationally including boating exhibitions and shows. Maritimo are very mindful of that and have acted to offer customers and prospective customers alternatives like one-on-one VIP appointments, guided digital tours and vessel walkthroughs, and controlled visits to our sales and marketing centres which are the subject of new stringent cleaning programs.
We encourage industry members to remain positive and to forward information that they feel may assist to keep our readers advised and up to date. All press releases, pics and video links should be forwarded to the email address below.
Stay safe and we look forward to hearing from you,
Peter Rendle peter.rendle@marinebusinessworld.com