There were signs at the Palm Beach International Boat Show, held the last weekend along the waterfront on magnificent Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach, that the much anticipated turnaround of the yachting industry has begun. In comparison to 2011, attendance was up 12 percent cumulatively the first two days of the four-day show.

Palm Beach International Boat Show

Show Management, the company which produces the boat show, reported more yachts on display in several categories this year, including a 35 percent increase in yachts over 100 feet and 29 percent more yachts in the 80 to 100 foot range.

Another criterion, exhibitor revenue, is up 5 percent, according to Show Management. This year’s show added 40 mega-yacht slips at Palm Harbor Marina at the show’s north end to accommodate growing interest in larger yachts. After two days, many exhibitors are reporting news of sales and the overall observation that confident and qualified buyers have returned in greater numbers than the past several years.

The yachting company with the largest display is HMY Yachts, which brought 59 yachts to the Palm Beach show, the largest number of boats by one exhibitor in Show Management’s history of producing boat shows. Ranging in size from 31 to 162 feet, the boats in HMY’s display are priced from $150,000 to $36.9 million.

“We are confident in the strength and stature of the Palm Beach International Boat Show to bring qualified customers,” said Steve Moynihan, owner of HMY Yachts. “This year’s expansion into Palm Harbor Marina gave us the opportunity to bring more boats than ever before and increase the number of large yachts in our display.”

HMY Yachts, founded 33 years ago, is one of the largest and most comprehensive yacht sales and service organizations in the world, doing business globally from 10 strategically located waterfront facilities covering the southeastern seaboard from the Florida Keys to South Carolina.

“HMY’s presence in the show with 59 boats is a significant vote of confidence in the resurgence of the market and in the Palm Beach International Boat Show,” said Efrem “Skip” Zimbalist III, CEO of Show Management. “I see it as an encouraging sign for the industry’s future.”

The Palm Beach International Boat Show is owned and sponsored by the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, Inc. (MIAPBC), and managed and produced by Show Management, the world’s leading boat show company.