A new superyacht show is in the early planning stages to be held at Newport, Rhode Island in the summer of 2011. A spokesman for the Newport Exhibition Group, the organisers, told SB that "It is an idea which has been looked at for a number of years and now seems a good time to move forward with it." As yet no dates for the show have been finalised.

To allow time to organise the new show the 2010 Newport Spring Boat Show has been cancelled. This is an annual brokerage show, which deals with boats up to 18.3m (60ft). The spokesman commented, "The Spring show has been cancelled to make room for the new show." Also that "people would not think that the new show was simply replacing the Spring event." He emphasised that the option remains to hold the Spring show again in the future.

The Newport Exhibition Group is a subsidiary of the Newport Harbor Corporation and it also organises the Newport International Boat Show held in September each year and the Providence Boat Show, a small local event. In announcing the show Stuart Kely, the director of marketing, commented that, "We think that being situated between D.C. and Boston, and having a show in season in Newport, that we can put enough value into this event ... and that there's enough wealth in this region that we can put together enough elements of the show to make it a worthwhile destination."

Newport is a key superyacht hub on the US East Coast with its popularity with such craft increasing. It is this increasing patronage that is one of the factors behind the idea for the show.


Superyacht Business / David Robinson, 3 February 2010