Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, a decades-old showcase of the city’s powerful multibillion-dollar marine industry, got the go-ahead Thursday to stage its massive five-day display of yachts, vessels for the masses and boating lifestyles.
“If you name it, this show touches it,” Broward County Commissioner Lamar Fisher said as the commission tried to salvage one of the year’s biggest economic drivers. “I believe the show is needed now more than ever. It is extremely vital. The motto of the show is safety first.”
The region’s marine industry, the Marine Industries Association of South Florida says, generates 111,000 middle class jobs in Broward, 142,000 regionally and $8.9 billion in economic activity for the county.
Informa and the association, which is the show’s owner, could hardly afford to take a pass on the event during a year that has seen a surge in demand for boats of all sizes — despite the destruction wreaked upon other parts of the economy by the pandemic. Last year, the show drew more than 100,000 people, 1,000 exhibitors and 1,300 vessels.
The boat show, from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, would be effectively the first big South Florida event to be staged during the pandemic despite decisions by operators of other major events to cancel their 2020 exhibitions. They include ArtBasel in Miami Beach, the 2020 Tortuga Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale and the Fort Lauderdale Winterfest Boat Parade in December.
Winterfest, according to board member Rob Kornahrens, was unable to impose safety measures upon 12 miles of spectators who traditionally line both banks of the Intracoastal Waterway to watch the annual parade of festive party boats.
The boat show, he said, “has more control and the people coming in are paid attendance. Ours are anywhere on the shoreline.”
But the boat show is destined to be smaller under tight guidelines soon to be drafted by County Administrator Bertha Henry. Among other things, there will be more entry gates to cut down on lines, wider docks for social distancing and a capacity cap of roughly 28,800 people at any given time.
More than 20 people from the private and public sectors checked in with the commission by phone Thursday to support the show — provided that safeguards are put in place.
“The city has discussed the boat show at pretty good length,” said Fort Lauderdale City Manager Chris Lagerbloom. “Informa has put a lot of thought, effort and time in coming up with a plan. We recognize how important the boat show is to Fort Lauderdale and Broward County. I encourage you to continue to work with the boat show to secure a safe event.”
From an economic standpoint, commissioners who have witnessed the South Florida economy implode under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic needed little persuasion.
The commissioners heard from executives at Bahia Mar Fort Lauderdale Beach, one of the prime venues for the show, which saw its workforce dwindle from more than 150 to 30 employees after business all but dried up since March.
“Our employees have been on unemployment and furlough since March 21,” said Lisa Namour, the general manager. “I speak on behalf of all of the hotels in the same situation.”
“We can’t let Fort Lauderdale be driven by COVID,” she added. “We do need to figure out a better way to co-exist.”
Lots of safeguards
In July, Informa posted on its website the public health steps it intends to deploy. Those measures include:
Mandatory face masks for all staff and visitors.
Screening measures such as temperature checks upon entry.
Deep cleanings before, during and after each day’s events.
Overnight disinfections.
Electrostatic spraying and continuous sanitation with a focus on door handles, restrooms and food and beverage areas.
Floor markers at exhibition booths for social distancing. Exhibitors would be “encouraged to use contactless payment systems and refrain from using interactive exhibits.”
Social-distancing measures in cafes, concession areas, “cocktail barges” and VIP lounges.
Yet, support isn’t universal. On Wednesday, one veteran Fort Lauderdale yacht broker told the South Florida Sun Sentinel he prefers that the show not occur even though it would help bring him customers.
“It’s almost impossible to avoid what Broward County refers to as the three ‘Cs,’:” closed spaces, crowded places and close contact settings, said Jeff Erdman, president of Bollman Yachts.
But in an interview after the commission meeting, Andrew Doole, CEO of Informa, said he and the show owners spent the last four weeks working with the city and county on a plan to safely pull off the event.
“We made changes to all of the recommendations,” he said. “It will always be best practices.”
Phil Purcell, president and CEO of the marine association, said those practices will serve as a template not only for the Fort Lauderdale show, but for others that will follow. Purcell pointed out that the show’s layout is comparable in size to Walt Disney World, which by design reopened this summer to smaller crowds.
“As you are aware Disney and Universal have opened,” he told the commission. “They see anywhere from 10- to 30,000 people per day.”
The Central Florida attraction canceled the 2020 edition of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party and Epcot’s Candlelight Processional, but is moving forward with a series of smaller holiday events.
A quest for balance
None of the county commissioners opposed the event. But they wanted assurances that public health rules will be strictly enforced as the business community seeks to mine the show’s vast economic benefits.
“We have to balance public health versus economic health,” said Steve Geller, the vice mayor. “I would ask that you proceed. reach an agreement with the boat show but that zero tolerance be a part of that agreement.”
Commissioner Tim Ryan, whose district includes the boat show venues, warned, “It will be a real stain on the fine reputation of the boat show” if public health rules aren’t enforced and people end up getting sick.
“We need enforcement,” he said. “Our plans are only as good as they are implemented.”