It used to be known as the Yacht & Brokerage Show in Miami Beach. Many of us have referred to it colloquially for years as the Collins Avenue show. For 2016, it’s getting a new name — Yachts Miami Beach — and a second venue at Island Gardens Deep Harbour on Watson Island, where Superyacht Miami will debut.
Superyacht Miami is being added as a new venue to address the increasing size of yachts the world over — the largest new builds cannot fit at the Indian Creek Waterway site where the Collins Avenue show takes place. About 15 to 20 superyachts are expected to participate in the inaugural year of Superyacht Miami, with the venue able to hold yachts up to 500 feet, says Brett Keating, vice president of consumer marketing for Show Management.
The overall show name is changing to Yachts Miami Beach to ensure visitors know the Collins Avenue venue will remain the same, given the publicity about the change of location for the Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show run by the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
“With all of the changes that NMMA is going through, and they’re going to be so distant, a lot of people think our show is also moving,” Keating says. “They think all the boats on Collins Avenue are moving to Key Biscayne. We are not going anywhere.”
In fact, Keating says, the Collins Avenue venue will expand for 2016 with several new exhibitors. There’s also a new VIP experience in the works, including parking and a private-car service between the Collins Avenue and Superyacht Miami venues.
Showgoers can catch a shuttle bus between the sites, and water taxis will run along Indian Creek Waterway. Water-taxi service is also being discussed between Collins Avenue and Miami Beach Marina, which is a pickup point for public transportation to the new international boat show venue on Virginia Key.
Overall, though, Show Management hopes the new Yachts Miami Beach name will help attendees remember that while the two boat shows run concurrently, they are different.
“We’re the big kahunas, with the big boats and the big in-water display,” Keating says of Yachts Miami Beach. “We wanted to elevate our presence and our branding to be distinctive.”
$1 Billion: The estimated value of all the boats expected to be on display at Yachts Miami Beach, the event that takes place on Collins Avenue.
Massive Economic Impact: The Progressive Insurance Miami International Boat Show and the Yachts Miami Beach show bring more than $600 million in estimated economic impact — more than the Super Bowl, wherever it is played.
Yachts Miami Beach and Superyacht Miami:
Thursday, February 11 through Monday, February 15
Advertisement10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Sunday
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
Admission: Free
For Parking, hotel, shuttle, water taxi and other information, click here.
To see the rest of the 2016 Miami boat show coverage, click here.
