Metstrade celebrates 360 degree overview of the global leisure marine industry
by Sandra Huijbregts, METSTRADE 21 Nov 07:53 PST
18-20 November 2025
Metstrade entrance © Metstrade
Metstrade 2025 (18 - 20 November) closed yesterday after welcoming thousands of leading leisure marine professionals from across the world to the biggest edition of the show to date.
Metstrade 2025 took over the entire RAI Amsterdam complex for the first time due to the show's impressive growth, with visitors enjoying expanded halls, enhanced zones and close to 1,700 exhibitors to explore.
The complete takeover of the RAI Amsterdam complex enabled a more dynamic flow of visitors. Attendees were able to explore the show in a continuous loop, making it easier to experience the whole Metstrade show floor and get a complete picture of the global leisure marine market.
The show received 32,000 visits from 20,000 unique visitors, with leisure marine professionals from all over the world gaining international market insights, collaborating with new partners, building meaningful connections and learning about the latest trends and innovations.
Show highlights
With more to discover than ever before, this year's show reinforced Metstrade's position as the go-to event for the leisure marine industry. Highlights included:
- 30 Country Pavilions, representing leading innovations and new products from organisations in 20 nations.
- Specialist zones displaying innovations from superyachts, marina & yards, construction materials, foiling, and startup suppliers and companies, as well as the Next Gen Zone, which presented trailblazing companies delivering practical solutions to reduce environmental impact across the sector.
- The 34th edition of the DAME Design Awards, showcasing the 'best of the best' new products in the leisure marine industry, with overall winner LXNAV E360 Round Chartplotter. More info on all DAME Design Awards nominees and winners: damedesignawards.com.
- The Boat Builder Awards celebrating the best in boat building in a new venue at the heart of Metstrade, where Johan and Britt-Marie Carpelan, co-founders of Targa Boats, were honoured as this year's Lifetime Achievement recipients. More info on all the finalists and winners: ibinews.com/bba2025.
- Five stages featuring a carefully curated content plan of speakers, expert-led sessions and panel discussions.
- The superyacht industry assembled for The Superyacht Forum and Superyacht Coating Conference, providing unique platforms for networking, collaboration and innovation. The learnings from these events was continued at Metstrade's expanded Superyacht Zone.
- A broad variety of additional events, from dinners to dance parties and conferences to book clubs. The whole city of Amsterdam was filled with events connected to Metstrade, concluding with the Yacht Racing Forum.
Surpassing expectations
Exhibitors and visitors alike have praised this year's Metstrade, commenting on its welcomed expansion, strong attendance, industry insights and unparalleled networking opportunities.
Frank Hugelmeyer, ICOMIA Board President, said: "Metstrade 2025 showcased the global marine industry at its best—innovative, collaborative and forward-looking. Every year, this can't miss event plays a pivotal role in connecting ICOMIA members and global businesses while positioning the maritime industry for future momentum."
Theo Hooning, Secretary General of SYBass, said: "At SYBAss, we are delighted about the expansion of Metstrade, and the area which is now entirely focused on the Superyacht sector. This development sets Metstrade apart as a true business-to-business yacht show, distinguishing it from others that tend to cater more to consumers."
Nothing short of exceptional
Speaking at the close of this year's show, Patricia Becker, Exhibition Manager Metstrade, said: "This has been the most exciting Metstrade to date. Welcoming visitors to our biggest edition has been nothing short of exceptional - it has been a true global convening of the leisure marine industry. There has been a great atmosphere throughout the show, with the Country Pavilions and dedicated Zones buzzing with business deals, while our many stages and speakers drew in engaged audiences eager to listen and learn from experts in their fields. We are grateful to have received so much positive feedback about the quality of the interactions between our audience and exhibitors over an extremely busy three days.
Niels Klarenbeek, Director Maritime Events, adds: "Plans are already under way for the 2026 edition of Metstrade, where we will be making further updates to the show layout to meet the ever-increasing demand and needs of our exhibitors and visitors. We look forward to sharing more details about what we have in the pipeline in the coming months. Our sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to making the 2025 edition of Metstrade so successful."
In 2026, The Superyacht Forum will take place 16-17 November and Metstrade 17-19 November in RAI Amsterdam. More information is available on www.metstrade.com.