National Boat Shows director, Andy Williams has hit out at the Earls Court Boat Show saying that it will take 20,000 visitors from ExCel.

‘Most of our exhibitors, believe that two London Shows hitting the same audience would not be of benefit to the industry a month apart. If a show at Earls Court in December were to go ahead it could mean a potential loss to our audience of
20,000 people, some believe more.

‘I have heard and read comments that refer to “the old days at Earls Court”.
NBS did not move the show on a whim and I’d like to reiterate the
reasoning behind the members’ decision to move the London Boat Show from
Earls Court to ExCeL. The Show needed to continue its growth and
development and the only way it could do that was to move.

‘Please do not forget the attendance was declining significantly before we
moved. In fact, if the show had remained at Earls Court an extension of the
decline would have seen approximately 85,000 people attend a cramped 2007
show. I say cramped, because we should all remember that it was becoming
impossible to get many boats in, especially with the new market ranges and
their increasing sizes. Without the move how could companies launch new
boats over 75ft at the London show?’