Future boat shows in doubt as BIA struggles with COVID-19

The Boating Industry Association of Australia announced this week it had made four of its employees redundant as it reacted to what it said were “changing business and consumer needs associated with COVID-19”.

The BIA also hinted it would struggle to make future boat shows viable if COVID-19 control measures meant it could not have the same number of people attend an event as before the pandemic struck.

A statement from the peak recreational boating lobby group – titled “BIA restructures for the future” – released earlier this week said the coronavirus pandemic was “the catalyst for the board of directors to re-evaluate its short- and long-term priorities and consequently restructure the organisation to respond to these changing times”.

“The changes announced today, which include the loss of four positions and changes to other roles, will support the BIA in managing the association’s financial position and business functions disrupted by COVID while adapting to the current and future needs of the association’s key stakeholders,” BIA president Darren Vaux said.

“This restructure will ensure our commitment to support boating businesses and jobs, and the boating lifestyle across Australia is more focused,” he said. “Such work is important now more than ever.”

One of the big unanswered questions is what will happen to the string of annual boat shows organised by the BIA, including Sydney (scheduled for late July, 2021), Adelaide (July 2021), Brisbane (August 2021), and the annual Roselle trailerboat extravaganza (March 2021).

“COVID and the resulting disease control measures have led to a paradox,” Vaux said. 

“The boating industry is experiencing record levels of interest and sales for boat builders, brokers and retailers as Australians rightly opt for boating as an outdoor leisure activity of choice, while the association’s traditional source of revenue from events such as boat shows has evaporated due to severe limitations on gathering.”

The BIA is also believed to be facing a lack of support for future shows after a number of brands held their own smaller events while adhering to strict COVID-19 control measures, reporting as good, if not better, engagement with customers than they would get at a larger organised event costing thousands of dollars in site fees.

Vaux said the BIA looked into a range of options to redeploy team members to other roles but “unfortunately, this was not possible”.

“Whilst the whole BIA team have performed at an exemplary level over many years, it was simply the unprecedented global pandemic and its dramatic and sustained impact on the operations and finances of the association, particularly in the delivery of events, that drove the decision to reduce the size of the team and refocus the association,” he said.

Australia’s recreational boating industry has faced a difficult year as COVID-19 restrictions at one point almost put a halt to boating as an activity Australia-wide.

Boating has also struggled to recover from widespread flooding in eastern Australia late in 2019, as well as bushfires that at one stage burned in an almost unbroken line from southern Queensland to eastern Victoria.

The BIA does not regularly disclose new-boat sales figures, but it is believed the market is still sitting about 10 percent below where it was this time last year, despite reports of a post-COVID sales boom as buyers rush into new-boat showrooms.

Current BIA president Darren Vaux was appointed in mid-2019. He is a longstanding independent director of the BIA. He has also served in roles for the BIA NSW, Boating Industries Alliance Australia, Marina Industry Association of NSW, Marina Industries Association, and the NSW Maritime Advisory Council.

Vaux is also a member of the Board of the International Council of Marine Industry Associations.

The BIA announcement comes in the same week as the US-based National Marine Manufacturers Association announced a string of domestic show cancellations, as well as the 2021 Miami International Boat Show, as North America enters the winter flu season.