After nine days of the fair under special conditions, the Interboot in Friedrichshafen ended successfully on Sunday. With around 29,000 visitors, significantly fewer came than in the previous year, when around 83,000 visited the exhibition on Lake Constance. But this was expected due to the Corona regulations.
"It was an extraordinary experience for our company and for our exhibitors to hold a trade fair under the sign of the corona virus", sums up trade fair managing director Klaus Wellmann. "We are happy that everyone's courage was rewarded."
With 200 exhibitors, there were also significantly fewer shipyards, suppliers, manufacturers and service providers in the halls than usual. "It was an absolute blind start," says Bente managing director Christian Daum. Many shared this uncertainty: "We had almost no expectations when we came here," says Dennis Hennevanger, owner of Saffier Yachts from the Netherlands. "We are all the more satisfied with how the Interboot went. Exactly the right visitors were at the stand. They not only showed a high level of professional interest, but also adhered to the hygiene and protective measures with great discipline."
Interboot project manager Dirk Kreidenweiß looks back with satisfaction on the first so-called "Interboot Special Edition": "The mood among the exhibitors was very good," he reports. They were able to offer "the industry a meeting place and a safe shopping experience again".
During the week it was, as usual, quieter on the exhibition grounds, where you were required to wear a mask in closed rooms. But the balance of the first weekend was good, and on the second, bad weather ensured that the halls were well attended, at least in the morning.
Many exhibitors emphasized that although fewer visitors came, a high proportion with a specific interest or desire to buy. The boom that the sailing industry experienced this summer due to Coron was also partly noticeable at Interboot.
"For our financial year, Coron is very beneficial and ensures increasing sales. New people have found their way into water sports and we hope that we can draw continuity from it," says Sven Walter, master boat builder at M. u. H. von of Linden GmbH.
The supporting program of the fair was well received: the lectures in the Sailing & Travel Competence Center and on the IBN action area as well as the charter and trip advice received a lot of attention. The trailer driver training in the open-air area west, where maneuvering with a trailer could be practiced under supervision, was fully booked.