#hanseboot – German boat show hanseboot 2012 focused on Northern European waters and it has proved effective say organisers.

"The increased focus of hanseboot on Northern European waters has produced good results," said Bernd Aufderheide, President and CEO of Hamburg Messe und Congress (HMC) at the close of the 53rd Hamburg International Boat Show on Sunday. "Exhibitors from all segments have confirmed to us that they had noticeably more visitors, especially at the weekends, from Denmark, Sweden and other Northern European countries. In Year one of this new orientation, the overall result after nine days of hanseboot is positive."

Torsten Conradi, President of the German Boat and Ship Building Association (DBSV, one of the official supporters of hanseboot), is convinced that this sharpening of hanseboot's profile is a good thing. "The new orientation of hanseboot in terms of its geographical coverage and content is much appreciated by all. But of course a focusing process like this cannot be completed in just one year. We will work with the experience gained and the suggestions and needs of exhibitors and visitors, continuing the journey we have started with HMC, to optimise the direction of hanseboot even more."

About 80,000 visitors from Germany and abroad came to hanseboot, which was held from 27 October to 4 November. The visitor total was about the same as last year (78,920 in 2011). "This year there was no official In-Water hanseboot in the Port of Hamburg because of extensive construction work going on for protection of the waterway and flood defences. We feel it is a good sign that the number of visitors in the exhibition halls maintained the same level as last year, considering the difficult market situation that still exists," said Aufderheide. "And many exhibitors are confirming to us that hanseboot appeals to the right audience, that is boat owners and watersports enthusiasts with above-average expertise and purchasing power."

According to a representative, independent survey of visitors, the proportion of trade visitors was up 7 percentage points versus last year, reaching 22%. First-time visitors also increased by 5% to 25%.

There was a wide range of attractions to bring newcomers and experienced boating people to the exhibition halls – alongside the numerous boats and yachts of all types and sizes, from new products and classics to sports and cruise boats, series-produced yachts and one-off builds, there were further trends and innovations in the watersports sector, and new features in the supporting programme of specialist presentations and hands-on events.

The new hanseboot Refit arena on the upper floor of event hall B1 was a real crowd puller. Together with A.W. Niemeyer, M. and H. von der Linden and the specialist magazine Yacht und boote, hanseboot looked for old, damaged GRP boats for free-of-charge repair or refit in a showcase building and repair yard during hanseboot. "The traditional reason for going to the hanseboot is that you get so much useful information here. That has certainly worked very well with the Refit arena," said Helge von der Linden. "Visitors were very interested and wanted detailed information, asking very specific questions. The owners of the boats also played a very active part, and learned a great deal."

Whereas the Refit arena was aimed mainly at experienced sailors and boat owners, the Dinghy Newcomers' arena in Hall A4 was particularly appreciated by visitors with little or no previous experience of sailing. Various dinghy models were exhibited on about 200 square metres, and people could try them out on a sailing simulator without getting wet, for example with capsize exercises or trapeze sailing. "We had good discussions with potential customers and also existing customers and collected leads with potential newcomers – that is visitors without experience of sailing, without a sailing license, without their own boat and without charter experience. The Dinghy Newcomers' arena proved very effective," said Christian Brandt from Onsail, which initiated the new action space as a partner of hanseboot.

The focus of hanseboot clearly moved further North as far as exhibitors were concerned, with national pavilions from Estonia, Poland and Finland. The Polar 55 from the Polar Shipyard in Estonia was the largest sailing yacht in the halls with a length of 16.45 metres, attracting a great many visitors. "The Estonian exhibitors had varying expectations for the boat show. Some of them were looking for new dealers, while others already have many years of business relations with Germany. Our boat builders are very satisfied with hanseboot as a whole. Interest was strong, many sales discussions were held, and nearly all our exhibitors took in orders," said Riina Leminsky, Director of the Estonian Business Promotion Enterprise "Estonia in Deutschland".

The DBSV, supporting partner of hanseboot, expressed satisfaction. "hanseboot produced better results than expected, in a difficult economic environment," said DBSV Managing Director Claus-Ehlert Meyer. "The DBSV members at our joint stand had a lot of questions about extensive repair and refitting work. And many contracts were signed for individual building projects. This market segment was also presented by the exceptional yachts at the DBSV special show, which met with a great deal of interest and enormous enthusiasm on the part of visitors."

Quotes from hanseboot exhibitors are shown in the Press Section at www.hanseboot.de

Dates for the next hanseboot and hanseboot ancora boat show 2013:

§ hanseboot 2013, 54th Hamburg International Boat Show, is to be held from 26 October to 3 November 2013.

§ The hanseboot ancora boat show at the ancora marina in Neustadt/Holstein will be held under the leadership of the hanseboot team, from 24 to 26 May 2013.