Heavy rains don’t dampen Tampa boat show

Two days of rain did not keep some 20,203 enthusiasts from attending the 2018 Progressive Insurance Tampa Boat Show – a 9% increase over last year, according to the show’s promoter. The three-day event was held at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida from September 7-9.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) reports that vendor feedback has been positive, both with the quality of sales leads and many surpassing on-site sales goals.

The show received widespread local media coverage, and conducted a full-on social media blitz promoting the show’s new On-Water Training program presented by BoatUS, the first-ever Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! workshop and Women Make Waves skills training, exclusive BMW test-drives, and various fishing and boating seminars.

The Tampa show is part of an overall trend of increased attendance at boat shows around the US so far during 2018.