Exhibitor testimonials on Interboot 2024:

Exhibitor testimonials on Interboot 2024: 

Sonja Meichle, Managing Director of Ultramarin Meichle + Mohr GmbH:

“We are extremely pleased with the new five-day duration of the trade fair. In all our time as exhibitors, we have never experienced a trade fair day quite like Saturday. It was truly astonishing what transpired here from 10 am until the end of the fair. We achieved 81 percent of last year’s turnover in just four days, and we are confident that we will match our turnover for 2023. Even with the shortened timeframe for the event, we are pleased to be presenting our comprehensive range again this year, which is greatly appreciated by our affluent customers. We are truly speechless!”

Anke Heesen, Account Manager of the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board:

“I was very enthusiastic about reducing the duration of the trade fair to five days, as it is more practical in terms of staffing and expenses. We experienced a high volume of visitors from the very first day of the fair, including a strong influx of visitors from Switzerland. Another plus this year is the merging of the Interboot and InterDive trade fairs, which complement each other very well. Many of our customers also enjoy diving, and they appreciate the broader range of offerings available at the combined event. As in previous years, we anticipate strong follow-up business this year, which frequently carries over into the next season. And by the way, Interboot is the nicest trade fair in all of Germany. We truly enjoy coming here, and the assistance provided by the trade fair team is outstanding in every respect.”

Michael Zupritt, Managing Director of MIZU:

“The fair was a tremendous success for us; we sold both of our trade fair boats. I think the concept is excellent. Sometimes we couldn’t even take a lunch break because so many people were there. The atmosphere over the weekend was rather mixed, with many people stopping by just to say ‘hello’ or to take a look around. However, on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, we had an excellent crowd that was both knowledgeable and genuinely interested in purchasing boats. I think the shortened duration of the fair is perfect; it works really well for me. We’ve already reserved our spots at the fair next year.” The way it is now, things are definitely trending upward. If the fair maintains its current momentum, we can expect to see many more dealers returning. I think a lot of people will wish they had attended. The venue in Friedrichshafen has the best halls in all of Germany. The ambiance is absolutely stunning. Interboot 2024 proved to be a successful event for us.”

Karsten Baas, Managing Director of Hanse Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG:

“I’ve always supported the idea of a shorter fair duration, so I have a very positive view of this year’s Interboot. The visitors arrived in a more concentrated manner, leading to many in-depth discussions of our new Hanse yacht.”

Christoph Ruderer, Managing Director of Camperforyou:

“Our presence here within the newly created caravan area at Interboot is really good! The fair has been fantastic, with a very good crowd – we are extremely pleased. Demand has been outstanding; we sold a vehicle on the very first day! From the start of the fair to the finish, our entire team was kept extremely busy. We’ll definitely be back.”

Beat Plüss, Managing Director of SNG:

“The fair went very well for us, and we are pleased with the outcome. We engaged in constructive discussions and touched base with current and prospective customers. We had a significant number of interested visitors at our booth, especially on Wednesday and Thursday. We also had many German visitors who expressed interest in making purchases. On Friday, it was more the crowd that comes to look around and then leaves again. I think that shortening the duration is beneficial. We previously experienced days when nothing happened. Now all the activities are just concentrated on five days. The reduction in duration is also advantageous for us in terms of effort. The work required for the transportation of the boats remains the same, of course, but the staff is only unavailable for their normal duties for five days. Friedrichshafen is certainly a great location for those of us from Switzerland. It’s not too far, and we also have the opportunity to tap into the southern German market, as our boats are not currently sold there. This exclusivity allows us to create and cultivate new markets and attract customers. Interboot 2024 was a good trade fair for me.”

Michael Schild, Field Service of Southern Germany, Lindemann KG:

“The shortened version of Interboot went well for us. The number of visitors felt just as high but within a shorter timeframe. We engaged in a lot of technical discussions. Our primary objective is to attract customers from southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland while also nurturing relationships with our current clientèle in the region. Additionally, we aim to showcase our new products for the upcoming season.”

Simon Zanon, Managing Director of Zanon Nautic GbR:

“After a two-year hiatus, we are back on board due to the shortening of the fair duration. We were delighted with the response from the public, engaged in great consultations, and witnessed tremendous interest in our type of boat. We are very happy with the feedback we’ve received.”

Bernd Unruh, Managing Director of Unruh Marine GmbH:

“My expectations for Interboot have been met completely. The aim was to bring the houseboat closer to the customer. It’s just a shame that there is no license to operate them here on Lake Constance. I’ve been coming to Interboot since 1990, and I truly enjoy the pleasant atmosphere here in Friedrichshafen.”

Jens Falkenberg, founder and owner of Stoked Zone:

“The trade fair was a great success for us. It started quietly. There could have been more visitors on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, especially in our target group. We had a slightly older crowd with not so many surfers. However, everything went really well on Saturday. There were also a lot more young people, particularly from the surfing community. We sold a lot of ponchos, which was good in terms of turnover. On weekdays between 6 and 7 pm, there was nothing going on here in the hall because everything else was closed. That was lost time for us. Friedrichshafen is an excellent venue for trade fairs. I was here for the first time two years ago as a visitor; I had a look around the fair, which served to prepare me a bit for becoming an exhibitor myself. I wasn’t yet familiar with Friedrichshafen. The proximity to Lake Constance provides excellent opportunities for surfing. We had a lot of people from Switzerland here, which is something I didn’t have on my radar. It’s a great opportunity for those of us from Hamburg to present ourselves in southern Germany.”

Jens Jung, Junior Head of Watersports Europe:

“We’re feeling optimistic so far. The first day was somewhat underwhelming, as there seemed to be less activity than expected, but we were quite pleased with how things went on Thursday and Friday. The second weekend is something we would have liked to have experienced. I believe we’ve seen a twofold increase in our sales during the week compared to last year, but unfortunately, we were not able to make up for the decline in weekend sales. This year, we noticed that there were a lot of people from Switzerland here again, who are always quite affluent. Nonetheless, we generally prefer to see a bit more purchasing power among our visitors. Many people pass through the hall and take a look but don’t buy anything. Overall, Friedrichshafen is a good location, but holding the trade fair at the end of the season can be problematic. Many attendees may find themselves short on funds or may feel that they can postpone any purchases until the following year. The visitors’ willingness to spend money is significantly higher at spring trade fairs. Friedrichshafen is certainly an excellent destination for us. The trade fair team is exceptional as well. They interact with you in a highly cooperative manner, which is really great and very much appreciated by us. I’m confident that we’ll return next year.”

Dominique Marxer, Managing Director of FibuMAR Handelsgesellschaft AG

“The trade fair went quite well, and we are pleased with the results. While we won’t know the ultimate outcome of our business dealings until later, we engaged in many productive discussions, especially on Saturday, which proved to be a particularly good day for us. The overall atmosphere was quite pleasant. It’s our first time here, but Friedrichshafen is sure to become a key location for us. Coming from Liechtenstein, our proximity makes it logical for us to exhibit here. Perhaps we will enlarge the booth a bit next year so that we can effectively showcase our entire portfolio. Interboot 2024 proved to be an interesting fair for our team. It was our first experience at a trade fair, and we consider it to have been a great success for us. We will be more than happy to return.”

Michael Menken, Managing Director of Bootscenter Menken:

“We have sales to report, and given the size of our booth, this is to be expected, but we didn’t sell as much as we would have on the Saturday of a second trade fair weekend. In general, the visitors here are well-informed. Southern Germany has significant purchasing power, particularly when viewed in conjunction with the Austrians and Swiss, but the overall situation remains evident. There’s a certain reluctance to make purchases, which then makes it necessary to provide additional consultation and communication with the customer. However, you can generally say that the location here is perfect. Interboot serves as something like a mini in-house trade fair for us, as we are based in the south and many of our existing customers attend the event. While 2024 is certainly not as satisfactory as we wanted it to be, we are still grateful that this fair exists at all. Interboot is clearly an important trade fair for us, and we look forward to returning.”