Review ancora Yacht Festival: Germany's largest in-water boat show emphasises its value

Top location, top programme: around 180 yachts of different propulsion types, sizes and categories on five jetties and on land, around 90 pagodas with suppliers of equipment, accessories and water sports-related services on the quay and in the modern exhibition hall, a supporting programme of around 80 items with expert talks, workshops and demonstrations on all aspects of boating. There will also be an area with live music, catering and an adjacent water event area and, last but not least, a beach area for fun sports and chilling out in deckchairs or beach chairs. What Heiko Zimmermann, founder and skipper of the organiser Yachtfestival365 GmbH, and his dedicated exhibition team brought to the ancora Marina in Neustadt in Holstein was without question highly attractive. Success seems to be programmed.

And yet there were sceptical voices in the run-up to the opening, which were fuelled by a premiere of a different kind. For the first time, admission was being charged for the In-Water Boat Show, which has been organised since 2010. How would this affect visitor numbers, which have fluctuated between around 17,000, 16,000 and 18,000 in previous editions since 2016? These figures were all based on the organiser's estimates. Until the 10th In-Water Boat Show in 2019, this was Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH. In 2022, Heiko Zimmermann took over the ancora yacht festival with his event agency, which was founded in the same year. It was not possible to verify the figures, as the exhibition grounds were previously freely accessible from all sides and there were no admission controls.

Thousands of visitors at the ancora yacht festival

Nevertheless, these visitor numbers set the benchmark for the Hamburg ancora Yacht Festival 2023. This makes the result of exactly 15,572 visitors, whose admission tickets (day ticket 12 euros, families 25 euros) were scanned at the entrance to the exhibition hall and thus counted, all the more impressive. The "vote" on the value of the In-Water-Boat Show at ancora Marina could hardly have been clearer. The diverse range on offer was obviously worth the entrance fee for visitors. Great feedback for the organisers and exhibitors.

Heiko Zimmermann gave free rein to his relief after the intensive days, including long nights at the exhibitor evening on Friday and the public harbour night on Saturday: "I'm completely happy. The weather naturally played into our hands. The predicted gloomy outlook for the boat market did not materialise at the Yacht Festival. The boat exhibitors reported very good contacts and even unexpected sales. But the innovations were also well received."

The exhibition area in the Neustadt marina really came into its own, especially on Saturday, which was a busy day for visitors. Visitors strolled through the marina, headed for the yachts, enjoyed themselves in the event area on the beach, savoured the offerings at the food trucks and even danced into an early summer evening at the concert in the harbour. "It was a great atmosphere. The fun sports enthusiasts had just as much fun sailing, foiling and e-boarding on the beach as the spectators in deckchairs. And in the harbour, the whole world of yachting lifestyle opened up. We have already been told that this is the Cannes of the North," said Heiko Zimmermann, who was delighted with the praise - and also the recognition from the state of Schleswig-Holstein, which has recognised water sports as a key element of tourism in the state. Julia Carstens, State Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Labour, Technology and Tourism in Schleswig-Holstein, came to help open the Boat Show on Friday.

We were there: Delius Klasing with the magazines BOOTE and YACHT

As the official media partner of the Hamburg ancora yacht festival, Europe's largest water sports publisher Delius Klasing and its magazines BOOTE and YACHT once again flew the flag at Germany's largest in-water boat show. We were at the start with our show mobile for the comeback in May 2022 after a two-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic, this time occupying our own pagoda on the harbour promenade of the five-star ancora marina. Directly in front of the pagoda, we presented the current status of our Conquest 1950 CC refit project. The restoration of the 6.15 metre motorboat from the 1990s met with lively interest. Our colleague Ole Puls was on hand to answer questions. In addition to the dedicated specialist companies, the trained boat builder also lent a hand with the refit of the Conquest.

Exhibitors from Germany and neighbouring countries unanimously reported very good discussions with their customers, many of whom are expected to make purchases in the post-fair business. Visitors came not only from the region, but also from the whole of northern Germany, Scandinavia and, very specifically, from other countries. "The location of the Hamburg ancora Yacht Festival in the Bay of Lübeck is a perfect place for the Baltic Sea region in particular to tap into the market in the north. The trade fair has thus not only confirmed its status as the largest in-water boat show in Germany, but is also one of the largest trade fairs of its kind in Northern Europe," reads the closing press release from Yachtfestival365 GmbH.

The next ancora Yacht Festival will take place from 31 May to 2 June 2024.

Exhibitors' comments on the Hamburg ancora Yacht Festival 2023:

Mattias Evald, Marstrand Yachts, Sirena: "With the introduction of admission prices, more people came who were genuinely interested and also had respect for the boats. We liked that a lot. Being able to show the yacht here on the water gives interested visitors a completely different feeling than at indoor trade fairs. We are happy with our appearance."

Richard Gründl, Gründl Bootsimport: "The entrance fees have not affected the visitors for us. From our point of view, this is the best trade fair after Cannes. Regionally, the appeal is enormous. Internationally, you can make it even bigger, because the programme here really deserves an even bigger international audience."

Maxim Neumann, Hanseyachts AG: "A superbly organised trade fair. The price-performance ratio is right and the timing is well chosen. Perhaps the future belongs to the Inwater trade fairs, but of course the weather also played along perfectly this weekend."

Nils Heyde, Lagoon Catamaran North: "The Hamburg ancora Yacht Festival is one of the most important trade fairs in northern Europe and is very much appreciated by our Group. It's good that the boat show has established itself here. We would even like to stay a day or two longer in the marina. Everything was perfectly organised, it's great that everything is online. And if there was any cause for criticism, it was immediately taken up and implemented. We see it as a general mission for all of us to bring people to water sports. That's why we're also delighted with the fantastic event area on the beach."

Tomas Svensson, Shogun Yachts: "We sailed here from Stockholm with our two yachts. That was a great start to the season. But the days here in Neustadt were also perfect. We had a lot of interest in our boats, especially the quality of our all-carbon yachts with a high level of comfort was of great interest to our visitors. Our world premiere, the Shogun 43, was very well received."

Thomas Hougaard, Nordship Yachts, Faurby: "It was great. Of course we were lucky with the weather, but the quality of the visitors was also particularly high. The introduction of admission has meant that visitors who really want to see the boats are coming. They are genuinely interested. We are pleased with this concept, as the number of people on the boats was good enough to actually have a chat. For yachts, the show is a dream come true with so many brands coming together."

Falk Morgenstern, First Class Yachting, Fountaine Pajot:"Ticketing enabled us to write to our customers in a very targeted manner and send out tickets. That worked well. But we also had spontaneous visitors on board. If we have boats ready next year, then we want to come again."

Thomas Nielsen, Yachtsport Eckernförde, Saare:"The atmosphere was good as always. That surprised us given the general political conditions. The customers were euphoric. We had an international audience, even from the Czech Republic, who came to us very specifically. We have already been able to attribute many sales to this trade fair in the past and expect the same now."

Dines Pontoppidan, Diamond Yachts, Saffier:"On Saturday in particular, we had a great day with lots of discussions with customers. The entrance fees ensured that we had a pleasant frequency on the boats. The organisation was very pleasant. We would be happy to take part again."

Arne Petersen, AP Yachting, Bavaria, Arcona, Nautitech:"It was much better than expected. The organisation was great. We enjoyed it. We are very satisfied, even though our three brands performed differently. We still have to analyse the interest in the Nautitech catamaran. For Bavaria, we want to continue the presentation in the future, and the interest in the Arcona yachts was so good that we want to expand the presentation even further."

Sven Heinze, Sail and Surf Pelzerhaken: "It was the first time we were represented directly on the beach with our sailing and surfing offer. That was cool. The afternoons on Saturday and Sunday worked well. We had a total of 52 taster courses. The link between the beach event area and the trade fair area could be improved a little so that we are more visible. But we also invited people directly in advance and that worked well."

Andreas Medicus, Hamburg Yacht Insurance Schomacker:"We are very happy with the new concept. There may have been a few more visitors last year, but that didn't bother us at all. Saturday was particularly strong."

Adrian Zühr and Thorsten Franz, Firmenich Boat Insurance: "A very good trade fair, we will be back next year. And we are also planning to come to the Inwater Boat Show in Wedel in September."

Hasso-Christian Höher, Pantaenius Yacht Insurance:"We held talks in a very good atmosphere. That was certainly also due to the weather. An inwater boat show is something special for customers and offers us a great opportunity to present ourselves. Due to the introduction of the entrance fee, the number of visitors was slightly lower than last year, but the customers were very interested and knew what they wanted."

Olivier Christen, Bernhardt Apparatebau (Secumar):"We are delighted with the event. The atmosphere was great. The topic of safety is important to us and has found a broad framework here at the Hamburg ancora Yacht Festival. We are always in close proximity to Pantaenius and are happy to utilise the resulting synergies. Overall, it has become clear that the water sports industry works very well together at this trade fair."