63rd Melbourne Boat Show has been hailed a success

Melbourne Boat Show 2025 © Boating Industry Association of Victoria

The 63rd Melbourne Boat Show has been hailed a success after it concluded on Sunday at Docklands. Organisers, Exhibitors and Visitors were all highly praiseworthy of the event, which saw close to 39,000 boaters and potential boaters in attendance, celebrating boats and the boating lifestyle.

The event featured more than 1.2km of waterfront and marina displays, over 100 Exhibitors, numerous entertainment activations, as well as great food, coffee and waterfront vibes. The weather over the four days was also very favourable. The Melbourne waterfront certainly did come alive with a fantastic display and a great feel.

Organisers, the Boating Industry Association of Victoria (BIAV), were very pleased overall. CEO Steve Walker stated, "Our event team, led by Katrina Muir and Mark Turnbull, did a brilliant job to set the scene. Exhibitors then put on an amazing display over the full four days. We were really pleased and proud". He added that "Visitors stepped up also. Arriving in large numbers, especially over the weekend, and they did seem to have a lot of positive energy."

Exhibitors likewise had a lot of positive things to say. Notably, industry and boat show veteran Neil Webster, from Sirocco/BRIG, was glowing. "I am very positive. I think Melbourne Boat Show has been a great boat show, and it's really great to be here." "The interest has been very strong. We've sold boats; it's way beyond my expectations, so I think the BIAV should be very pleased with the results here."

Michelle Brittain from Mullies Marine and Geelong Marine World was equally enthused, stating, "It's been a fantastic show this year; the vibe has been high. We've had plenty of foot traffic through, and obviously, it's led to sales for us this year.

Newcomer, Stu Wilson from Nautique Central was impressed, stating, "It's been fantastic, it's our very first boat show down here in the Docklands, it's been a really busy show for us. A steady stream of people all weekend long, honestly, we couldn't be happier!"

Alan Whittley from Whittley Marine summed things up with "The Boat Show has delivered 100% and I look forward to the 5th year in Docklands."

Boat shows continue to deliver and provide the industry with a significant week of profile and promotion. As well as being an extremely visible CBD event, there was numerous TV, radio, print and of course social media coverage, to complement the official advertising campaign. A highlight is the six Weekend Sunrise crosses on Sunday morning. "It was great to hear from non-industry and even non-boating people, that they saw the boat show, and or knew it was on", stated BIAV President Scott O'Hare.

Scott was one of many exhibitors who had some good results in terms of brand building, leads, and sales. For many, there will be a very big fortnight of follow-ups, dealership visits, and sea trials, and in many cases, that will kick off on Monday. Leading into a big summer season.

A major Boat Show highlight was the Minister for Outdoor Recreation (Boating), Steve Dimopoulos, attending the Official Opening and pledging the government's significant four-year support for BIAV's two annual Boat Shows. Other highlights included the great attendance figures, the apparent level of enquiries and sales, the success of the various entertainment activations, the best-ever Women on Water industry networking event, the presentations of the Apprentice of the Year awards, and the very well-received Exhibitor Function. It was at that event that Sundance Marine and JV Marine were congratulated for respectively taking out the on-water and on-land best exhibit awards.

BIAV turns its attention now to its 2026 boat show campaign. This includes the recently announced Gippsland Lakes Boat Show, which will take place from 27 February to 1 March, at Paynesville, alongside the Classic Boat Rally. Exhibitor documentation for this new boat show event is expected to be available later this week, and early indications are that exhibitor interest is very high. The Melbourne Boat Show for 2026 will be in its third week of October slot, at Docklands and will look to continue to grow in size and profile in what will be its fifth iteration at that location. Signs for that are good also, with some 2025 exhibitors already asking for more space!

View the full suite of video testimonials here.