This year, the Grand Pavois was held from 28 September to 3 October 2016 in the Port des Minimes. A later than usual opening due to tidal coefficients. Indeed the other possible dates, earlier in the month, forced the show to be in front of the Cannes show. The organization therefore preferred to postpone the show a little later. This decision was not a bad one since the weather was on the way, contrary to last year, allowing exhibitors and visitors alike to enjoy the pontoons under a radiant sun.
Fewer boats on display, but interesting new products
On the pontoon side of the boat, there were some "holes", which were filled in by twin moorings as opposed to the dead-end moorings usually used in the saloon. One multihull exhibitor even confided to us that he had been given an extra free place to exhibit a second boat. In the same way, a floating restaurant took its place at the bottom of the gangway in the press area, a way of filling the space? It's true that at the show, exhibitor turnover is important, as explained by Alain Pochon, in an interview for Bateaux.com.
In terms of new features, the Grand Pavois report announces 100 of the 750 models presented (sail and engine combined). A slightly inflated figure, since there were sailing and motor boats on the pontoons and quays stamped "new", even if they were not world firsts (especially for motor boats). Nevertheless, the panel of boats presented was satisfactory and allowed visitors to "discover" some beautiful units.
The sea trials are a great success
For exhibitors and visitors alike, the sea trips (trials) were once again a success. Testing remains an advantage of the boat shows. With the magnificent weather the show enjoyed, it would have been rather disappointing not to be able to take advantage of it. Moreover, some shipyards are only present on the Grand Pavois for this possibility, which has a real added value. This is the case, for example, for Snip Yachting, which represents the brands XO Boat and Targa, Cheetah Marine - English catamarans -, Wimbi Boat or Roughneck (semi-rigid), but also Jeanneau with its Leader 6.5 BR which was only available for testing and not displayed with the rest of the range on the dock.
Fewer visitors, but boats sold
At the time of the assessment, the exhibition announces 80,000 visitors (compared to 82,000 in 2015 and 92,000 in 2014). Note the large number of visitors on weekends, when there could even be problems accessing the pontoons. Although the number of visitors is falling, the show keeps repeating that it is "qualitative". The Grand Pavilion also confirms its status as a "show where you sell". We were able to realize this by questioning shipyards such as Quicksilver which had already made 3 sales on Wednesday, or Marée Haute which had signed 2 Django before the weekend. In the opinion of the professionals, this Grand Pavois 2016 remains a good vintage, not necessarily in terms of number of visitors, but in terms of the quality of the public.
However, it should be noted that the Fishing area was a little bit poor (time lag?) and had a difficult start (very few visitors during the first three days of the show) to grow a lot during the weekend, especially with the Grand Pavois Fishing and its awards ceremony.
The Grand Pavilion complements the Cannes Show
The Grand Pavois de La Rochelle thus confirms its position as a major afloat trade show in France, and particularly on the Atlantic coast. Together with the Cannes Boat Show, they complement each other perfectly, in terms of units, visitors and atmosphere. As for the exhibitors, all were delighted and see a real added value with the tests. Many exhibitors also took advantage of the show to make sales or make interesting contacts. The fair continues to maintain the good atmosphere that is felt by visitors and exhibitors alike. On the press side, once again, the exhibition was very well received, and the means used to welcome journalists and VIP visitors were also well received.
Make way for the Grand Pavois 2017!
"As for our appointment in 2017, the board of directors of Grand Pavois Organisation has officially confirmed the dates of Wednesday, September 27 to Monday, October 2, 2017, so as not to be frontal with the Cannes Yachting Festival which will take place from 12 to 17 September." said Alain Pochon in the press release reporting on the show.
