The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is back for its 66th year.
It’s expected to generate nearly $900 million in sales, $1.7 billion in statewide economic impact, and attract more than 100,000 visitors.
“This is my first time, and I’ve always wanted to go on a yacht; it’s on my bucket list,” said Lynn from North Carolina.
Global spotlight on U.S. market
Called the largest in-water boat show in the world, it spans seven locations with more than 1,000 vessels.
“Everybody comes from Europe and the European boat shows, and we really get ramped up to see how the U.S. market gets excited and responds to the new season,” said AJ Blackmon.
Blackmon is the CEO of Ikonic Yachts, based in Miami Beach. He said tariffs were a concern for the industry earlier this year — 10 percent for European imports and up to 245 percent for some goods from China — but the industry found a workaround.
Offshore flagging avoids tariffs
“We really realized that the tariffs weren’t a deciding factor for a buyer because there’s certain ways around it, whether they flag the yacht offshore, they don’t import it to the U.S., and they obtain a cruising permit,” Blackmon said.
Flagging the yacht offshore means the vessel would be based in another country, which Blackmon said has been common for years.
“What we realized is that you can flag it on an offshore entity — Cayman Islands, Marshall Islands, Jamaica, Bahamas, it doesn’t really matter — and you’re not subject to that import duty because you’re not importing it to the U.S.,” Blackmon said.
Tax law boosts yacht purchases
He explained that bonus depreciation, a new tax law passed this year as part of the Big Beautiful Bill, has played a role in boosting sales.
“Bonus depreciation is a tax strategy for select individuals who are able to do so, where you can depreciate the yacht’s purchase price up to 100% in the year you buy it,” Blackmon said. “Everyone’s been on the sidelines for about 12 to 18 months trying to figure out where the world is going, and with bonus depreciation, the timeline is the end of the year.”
Tech drives smaller boat trends
Inside the convention center, smaller boats are on display.
Sean McCoy with Composite Research Inc., a boat manufacturer based in Georgia, said tech is leading the way.
“Now we’re moving into a younger demographic that’s more comfortable, that was tech-friendly from a younger age, so it’s getting pretty cool getting kind of sci-fi on it,” McCoy said.
The show runs through Sunday, Nov. 2. For tickets and show details, visit the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show’s website.
