The Zagreb Nautika Fair held last week at the Zagreb Fairgrounds was the largest of the decade by the number of presenters and area, confirming after several years of stagnation a slight upward trend in terms of the Croatian nautical market
A 10% growth was recorded in the exhibition section and 8% in the number of vessels on display compared to last year’s edition. Taking place parallel with the nautical fair were Hotel&Gastroteh and Olive fairs, with 455 presenters form 25 nations at all three of them. In five days there were just over 22 thousand visitors.
The Zagreb nautical fair is known as a business fair ahead of the sailing season, with mostly smaller craft on display, up to ten meters in length, with the main offer concentrated on nautical equipment – ship and outboard engines, electronics, fishing and diving gear and other nautical supplies. The largest boat on show this year was the 12-meter Mirakul 40 made by the Croatian company Grginić Jahte, priced at 3 million kuna. Fair visitors enjoyed 10 to 15% discounts on most of items, which is why it is so popular.
“Along with internationalization indicators, meaning the number of countries present, it is important to also point out the expansion of the exhibition area as a realistic indicator of market recovery, both nautical and touristic. Fair growth is always a growth indicator for those industries, also a confirmation that are activities in raising service quality have earned the trust of presenters and visitors,” said Zagreb Fairgrounds director Dina Tomšić.
There was also a world record achieved as part of the Fair. In a drive for children with autism named “Not Breathing,” diver of the Zagreb Underwater Sports Society Budimir Šobat did what many find unimaginable, something no one before managed – he held his breath for 24 minutes and 11 seconds in a static freedive. It was his contribution to raising awareness of autism. Šobat was his own daughter Saša, also a child with autism.
Ahead of the nautical season in Croatia there will be another significant fair event – the Croatia Boat Show in Split, scheduled for 11 to 15 April. It is the 20th edition of the fair whose stellar years saw it among the ten largest in the world, with over 500 vessels on display in the water and on land, including mega yachts of the biggest builders. According to fair technical director Robert Šormaz, the Croatia Boat Show will in also be larger its jubilee edition, both in numbers and area.
