Why the UK boating industry must raise its game

Leisure boating has become, increasingly so over the last 30 years, a pastime which is the preserve of the financially able – to a large extent, what many would deem the ‘wealthy’. Whilst people’s expectations have undoubtedly heightened, for the most part, the industry in general has driven this direction of travel in its pursuit of commercial growth. You could say, “that’s business” and to a large degree you’d be right. Furthermore, few things stand still in life and in this day and age, the world demands ‘progress’ – particularly in anything remotely connected with technology. The introduction of automated docking systems, the employing of AI, as well as ever-increasing degrees of horsepower and even the boats themselves – sometimes it can all seem like an ‘arms race’! But such is the way of the world.

But putting aside the technology race, people’s expectations, and not forgetting the global rise in manufacturing and shipping costs, even what might be classed as an ‘entry-level’ boat can now cost tens of thousands of pounds. As a consequence, leisure boating has become ever more the domain of high-net-worth individuals who can afford to spend such sums on a non-essential pursuit of their choosing. Factor in marina costs, rising fuel prices, the price of waterside eating out, and it becomes ever clearer that family boating is not for the financially faint-hearted!

Why am I raising this? It is because, if the boating industry is going to succeed and compete with other luxury, high-end alternative pastimes today, then it has to present itself at every turn as being utterly professional, wholly dedicated to high quality. It has to be fastidious about customer care and, so importantly, the ‘customer experience’. And in terms of the latter, this has to start from absolute base level, whether that be how a company presents itself online, in person at its premises, and critically, at public events such as boat shows.

Unlike the Continent, here in the UK, since the early 1950s, there have been a relative handful of marine companies which have invested in a ‘showroom’ to not only display their wares but to court their clients. For the most part, the marine industry has ignored the successful business model that its automotive counterpart has embraced. Even to this day, particularly here in the UK, a genuine ‘showroom’ premises remains a relative rarity. But bearing in mind even a moderate open ‘sportsboat’ can carry a similar price tag to that of a ‘supercar’ or high-end motorhome, putting this particular aspect of the customer experience aside, what are we witnessing in terms of the showroom’s ‘off premises’ equivalent, the boat show?

Shows like the Cannes Yachting Festival, Miami International Boat Show and boot Düsseldorf, whilst delivering at a price requiring huge investment and spend on the part of the exhibitors, most certainly present the industry in an environment worthy of the high-class products on display, along with the lifestyle these relate to. Nevertheless, here in the UK, frankly, it is anything but the case.

I’ve been around for some while. As the UK’s longest serving boating magazine editor with some 31 years under my belt, my judgement is that – bar a couple of smaller shows, such as the South Coast & Green Tech Boat Show and the British Motoryacht Show – the UK’s boat show scene has yet to fully align with the expectations of today’s market. The British boating market is smaller, of course, and with smaller resources – but does it not still deserve to be presented in a way worthy of the price tag the boats themselves carry?

Take, for example, our largest, supposedly finest ‘showcase’, the Southampton ‘International’ Boat Show. Whilst the marina is the natural draw, and does work very well, the land side is sadly no longer ‘fit for purpose’, with some companies having to spend vast sums just to create a level floor for their exhibits. Mayflower Park might have been acceptable 20 years ago, but it certainly does not meet the expectations or needs of the modern boatiing consumer. It does not provide anything like the ‘experience’ required, nor does it deliver the type of quality that an industry like the boating industry needs in order to survive, let alone succeed.

And what of the ‘pop up’ styled events starting to appear in the car parks and green spaces around the country? They may be free to get in, cheap to exhibit at, but having attended one of these events ourselves very recently, in truth, they are poor renditions of car boot sales at best. I’ve attended better organised, better provisioned, and better presented pony club gymkhanas than these ‘car park boat shows’. I would go as far as saying that such events, in my view, are not just generally poor-quality excuses for a ‘boat show’, but they are damaging to our industry, detrimental to the future of the pastime, and give entirely the wrong impression of what the industry should be all about. We may live in challenging times, but let us not actively go out of our way to present ourselves in such a way that promotes the idea that we’re desperate, on our ‘beam ends’! Forgive me, but is this really what the British boating industry has come to?

In conclusion, I say that if the UK marine leisure boating industry and the Federation that represents it do not take seriously the need for quality at every level, then not only the industry but the pastime too will wither and lose out to more savvy luxury markets that do understand the value of presentation and the customer experience – luxury markets and industries who really do know how to ‘sell the dream’. It’s time to reappraise who we are seeking to attract into the wonderful world of boating – and, especially in these testing times, to up our game!