Show Management

What Show Management does

Show Management is a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based event production company founded in 1976 that produces the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS), the world's largest in-water boat show. The show has run for 66 consecutive years (since 1959), spans seven waterfront venue locations across Fort Lauderdale — including Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Hall of Fame Marina, Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six South, Pier Sixty-Six North, Broward County Convention Center, 17th Street Yacht Basin, and Las Olas Marina — and in its 2025 edition attracted over 100,000 attendees, 1,000+ exhibiting brands, and 1,300+ vessels, generating a stated $1.79B in regional economic impact. The event is owned by the Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF) and produced by Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC (LSE: INF), giving Show Management access to the global events infrastructure of a publicly listed exhibitions group.

The company's product is the FLIBS event itself, layered with a portfolio of add-on experiences: the Windward VIP Club (premium hospitality at Hall of Fame Marina), Superyacht Village (luxury yacht showcase at Pier Sixty-Six South), marine trade credentials for B2B buyers, FLIBS Seminars, Best of Show awards, a Culinary Experience, and a Sustainability Initiative. Supporting technology is limited to consumer-facing tools: a mobile app, an eventspass.com ticketing platform, a digital show directory, and an onPeak-powered hotel booking portal. The core "technology" is operational event production — venue logistics, exhibitor coordination, transportation, and on-site hospitality — rather than a software platform.

Show Management operates an event-driven go-to-market with four revenue streams: (1) ticket sales to individual attendees and VIP experience buyers, (2) exhibitor fees from 1,000+ boat builders, brokers, and marine product companies, (3) sponsorships from marine media (Sail Magazine, Yachting Magazine, Power & Motoryacht) and non-marine brands (Chevrolet, Gosling's), and (4) hotel booking commissions via the onPeak partnership. Marketing is multi-channel, centered on social media (#FLIBS), email newsletter capture, press relations, and sponsor content distribution. Customers are segmented across consumer boat enthusiasts, enterprise exhibitors, marine trade professionals, and high-net-worth VIP buyers, with no single customer or segment materially concentrated.

Name

Show Management

Legal name

Informa PLC

Website

https://showmanagement.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Show Management is a Fort Lauderdale-based event production company (founded 1976) that produces the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS), the world's largest in-water boat show, on behalf of Informa Markets and MIASF, serving 100,000+ annual attendees and 1,000+ exhibiting marine brands across seven waterfront venues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Show and Event Management (Marine/Boating)

NAICS

Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Auto, Boat & RV Shows (MPAGAFAC)

Keywords

• Boat show production
• Marine event management
• In-water boat exhibitions
• Trade show operations
• Yacht show services

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Lauderdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: The show generates revenue through ticket sales to attendees for the five-day event across seven show locations.
2. Exhibitor Fees: Revenue is generated from 1,000+ exhibiting brands who pay to display boats and marine products at the show.
3. Sponsorships: Various sponsors pay for branding opportunities, VIP experiences, and marketing activations at the show.
4. Hotel Booking Commissions: onPeak is the official hotel provider, with the show benefiting from referral arrangements for attendee accommodations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Show Management produces and operates the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS), the world's largest in-water boat show, held annually across seven venues in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The five-day show displays 1,300+ boats from 1,000+ exhibiting brands to 100,000+ attendees and generates a $1.79B economic impact. Supporting offerings include the Windward VIP Club, Superyacht Village, marine trade credentials, seminars, and culinary experiences.

Product overview

Show Management operates the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS), the world's largest in-water boat show, as a single unified event product organized and produced by Informa Markets in partnership with the Marine Industries Association of South Florida. The core offering is the annual FLIBS event, supplemented by premium add-on experiences including the Windward VIP Club (exclusive hospitality), Superyacht Village (luxury yacht showcase), seminars, Best of Show awards, culinary experiences, and sustainability initiatives. The show spans seven venue locations across Fort Lauderdale, attracting over 100,000 attendees, 1,000 exhibitors, and displaying more than 1,300 vessels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Windward VIP: Exclusive VIP Club experience at Hall of Fame Marina featuring premium open bar, gourmet food, luxury pop-up activations, and private restrooms.
• Superyacht Village
• FLIBS Mobile App

Products and services

• Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) Annual five-day in-water boat show held across seven Fort Lauderdale venues, featuring 1,300+ boats from 1,000+ exhibiting brands for 100,000+ attendees; recognized as the world's largest in-water boat show with a $1.79B economic impact.
• Windward VIP Club Exclusive paid hospitality club at Hall of Fame Marina offering premium open bar, gourmet food, luxury pop-up activations, and private restrooms for VIP attendees and sponsors entertaining clients.
• Superyacht Village Dedicated luxury section at Pier Sixty-Six South showcasing the largest yachts at the show, targeting HNW individuals and superyacht buyers.
• Marine Trade Credential Professional access credential sold to marine industry professionals (brokers, dealers, charter operators, marine service providers) for B2B attendance and networking at FLIBS.
• FLIBS Seminars Educational seminar and session program covering marine industry topics, offered to attendees and marine trade professionals during the show.
• Best of Show Awards Awards and recognition program highlighting excellence among exhibitors and vessels at the show, providing marketing visibility to winners.
• Culinary Experience Food and beverage offerings and curated dining experiences available throughout the show venues for attendees and VIP guests.

Quantifiable outcome

• $1.79 billion economic impact generated by the show
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is owned by the Marine Industries Association of South Florida, which represents the marine industry in the South Florida region. This ownership relationship provides strategic alignment with the regional marine industry ecosystem.
• Informa MarketsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerProduced by Informa Markets, a division of Informa PLC, the show benefits from Informa's global events expertise and distribution network for large-scale trade shows and exhibitions.
• onPeakcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial hotel provider for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, offering hotel rates with no booking fees to attendees. Provides convenient accommodation options with flexible policies.
• BrightlineminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTrain service provider offering transportation information for show attendees traveling to Fort Lauderdale.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Boot Düsseldorf: Boot Düsseldorf is the world's largest boat and water sports trade fair by attendance, held annually in Germany. It directly competes with FLIBS for international marine exhibitors, dealer networks, and boat show audiences, operating at similar scale with overlapping manufacturer and accessories exhibitors.
• Miami International Boat Show: Produced by the National Marine Manufacturers Association, the Miami International Boat Show is another major US-based in-water boat show attracting boat manufacturers, dealers, and consumers. It competes with FLIBS for exhibitor spend, Florida-based attendance, and consumer boat buyers in the same regional market.
• Cannes Yachting Festival: The Cannes Yachting Festival is Europe's largest in-water boat show, held in Cannes, France, showcasing new and brokerage yachts. It directly competes with FLIBS for global yacht buyers, exhibitors, and luxury tourism dollars, serving a similar product category with comparable on-water display venues.
• METSTRADE (Marine Equipment Trade Show): METSTRADE is the world's largest B2B marine equipment trade exhibition, held in Amsterdam. It directly overlaps with FLIBS in serving marine industry exhibitors and trade professionals, although it focuses on equipment and components rather than end-consumer boat sales.
• Genoa International Boat Show (Salone Nautico): The Genoa International Boat Show is Italy's premier in-water boat show, attracting yacht manufacturers and buyers across the Mediterranean. It competes with FLIBS for European exhibitor participation and luxury yacht buyer attendance, serving a similar segment of the global marine leisure market.
• Monaco Yacht Show: The Monaco Yacht Show is a leading European luxury in-water yacht show serving superyacht buyers, brokers, and exhibitors. It directly competes with FLIBS in the global luxury yacht exhibition market, targeting overlapping HNW attendees, yacht manufacturers, and marine brands with similar show-floor experiences.

Broad incumbents

• RX Global (Reed Exhibitions): RX Global is one of the world's largest exhibition organizers, operating across numerous industries globally. While not directly competing with FLIBS in marine, RX is comparable as a major trade show and exhibition parent organization with extensive show portfolios, event services, and venue relationships overlapping with FLIBS' operational model.

Regional players

• Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show: The Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show is a major boat show held annually in Queensland, Australia. Comparable to FLIBS as an in-water boat show with marine exhibitors, it serves the Asia-Pacific region rather than the Americas and does not directly compete for the same attendees.
• Newport Boat Show: The Newport Boat Show is a long-running US boat show held in Rhode Island, attracting sailboat and powerboat exhibitors along with Northeast boating enthusiasts. It is comparable to FLIBS as an in-water boat show serving the marine industry, though at a smaller scale and serving a different US regional audience.
• Singapore Yacht Show: The Singapore Yacht Show is a key luxury in-water yacht exhibition serving the Asia-Pacific HNW market and superyacht buyers. Comparable to FLIBS in product category and HNW attendee target, it operates in a different geography and does not directly compete for Fort Lauderdale attendees.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/flibsofficial
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/InformaUSBoatShows
• Facebookfacebook.com/fortlauderdaleboatshow
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yachting-promotions-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/flibsofficial

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Show Management