The 56th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which was held Nov. 5 – 9 last year, contributed $857 million to the overall economy in the state of Florida.
The Marine Industries Association of South Florida, which owns the show, and Show Management, which produces it, announced the economic impact of the show after a study was done by Thomas J. Murray and Associates in conjunction with the University of Florida.
Trade Only Today, PassageMaker and Show Management are owned by Active Interest Media.
“The continued growth and strength of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, the largest boat show in the world and the largest single event in the state of Florida, is only possible because of the coordinated effort of the entire community,” Show Management president Efrem “Skip” Zimbalist III said in a statement.
“We thank the residents of the area for their cooperation and support during the busy time surrounding the show. We thank the hospitality industry for their part in making the show attendees feel welcome in the community. We thank our partners, exhibitors and suppliers for their critical role in making the show a success. And we thank the city of Fort Lauderdale, Broward County and all the regulatory and law enforcement agencies that come together to make this incredibly complex event possible.”
“The economic impact of FLIBS dwarfs the Super Bowl, and it happens year after year — contributing to the sustainability of 136,000 marine jobs and $11.5 billion to the economy in the region,” MIASF executive director Phil Purcell said. “It’s important to note that since 1961, FLIBS has consistently provided the critical economic certainty and job growth that our community and state want and need.”
Major FLIBS contributions during the five-day period include:
- $508.3 million in total sales by FLIBS participants
- $380.8 million in estimated sales by Florida companies, of which $240.7 million was contributed by the tri-county area and $131.5 million by Broward County
- $51.2 million in sales and excise taxes, with $16.9 million in Broward County alone
- $304.3 million in statewide personal income and economic activity
- 58 percent of visitors were from outside the region and 54 percent were from outside Florida, including 10 percent coming from other nations
- An average expenditure of $208 a day by out-of-town visitors on things such as hotels, restaurants, retail spending and local transportation
- $29.6 million in non-local visitor expenditures
The full report can be found by visiting www.miasf.org.
The 57th annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is set to take place November 3-7, 2016.
This post originally appeared in Trade Only Today and can be found here.
