Palma gets ready for the boat show

The Balearic nautical industry is busy getting ready for its show piece event of the year, Palma's 19th international boat show. The boat show will open its doors to the general public on April 27 and run until the evening of May 5. Organisers Fires i Congressos de Balears S.A., said yesterday that they are expecting 65'000 people to visit the show this year. Work on constructing the show ground started yesterday and the site for the nautical fair will be the usual one, in the old port opposite La Lonja. This year over 800 companies will be exhibiting around 4'000 brands of products raging from the very latest satellite navigating systems to fishing rods, surf boards and super luxury yachts. In fact, this year the fair will feature its first Super Yacht Exhibition with a number of large luxury vessels on show in the floating exhibition centre which will include a wide range of craft from three to nine metres in length to serve all price ranges. This year's event will also feature a number of special presentations and conferences. Organisers said yesterday that there is very little room for late exhibitors and there is limited chance of the event expanding in size. Nearly 90 per cent of this year's exhibitors booked their stand at the end of last year's event and have been regular exhibitors since Palma's international boat show began.