Planning kicks off for 2021 Melbourne International Boat Show

The event, scheduled to run from June 17-20 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Southbank, will coincide with the show’s 60th anniversary.

The BIAV was to have celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, but the event and the 2020 boat show were cancelled in the wake of some of the most repressive COVID-19 lockdown restrictions that Australia – and potentially the rest of the world – had ever experienced.

Instead, show organisers held a week-long virtual boat show, but has since indicated it is keen to go back to a physical format.

“An enhanced level of interest in, and desire for boats and boating, is materialising as we come out of COVID, or reach ‘COVIDnormal’,” the Boating Industry Association of Victoria, which organises the show, said.

“Early signs in relation to this are extremely favourable, and the demand for boats and boating is exceeding all expectations. 

“The Melbourne boat show is set to capitalise on this and be a great show for exhibitors,” it said.

The show’s timing has been set to coincide with state's Queen’s Birthday long weekend, with the public holiday falling on June 14.

Victoria is home to around 190,000 registered vessels, with more than 420,000 people in the state holding marine licences to skipper either a boat or a jet ski.

All up, almost a million people are engaged with boating in the state each year, generating more than $4.5 billion in economic benefits, BIAV says.

The annual show has attracted an average of between 21,000 to 23,000 visitors a year, with around 30 per cent of show attendees coming for the first time.

The event has traditionally been a conduit between boat brands and customers keen to upgrade their boats during the off-season.

The BIAV said it would follow government guidelines and liaise with health and safety experts to ensure the event was safe for social distancing requirements “ that may still be in place in June”.