MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 10, 2017 — The final attendance numbers are in, and organizers of the 2016 Marine Dealer Conference & Expo – which took place Dec. 5-8 at the Orange County Convention Center and Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando – are thrilled with their results.
In total, 640 marine dealers attended MDCE 2016, which represents an increase of more than 5 percent compared to last year and a new record for the event. The 2016 MDCE featured 30-plus educational sessions, including four Educational Tracks: Leadership, Sales, Marketing and Service Plus, and 11 Pre-Conference Workshops. Organizers also added a Breakfast Keynote speech to the traditional Opening and Closing Keynote addresses, more than two-dozen Dealer-to-Dealer Roundtable Discussions, an Innovation Spotlight and more Learning Lab experts than ever before to this year’s event. Taking the stage to present this education were 36 presenters, including experts in nearly every facet of marine retailing.
“While we are delighted that the show attracted record numbers of retailers, the real measurement of MDCE’s success is in the results dealers achieve in the year ahead,” said Liz Walz, vice president and director of education for the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, which co-produces the annual event with Boating Industry magazine. “We are optimistic about those results as attendees’ session evaluations – which ask about the usability of what they learned – also hit a record high this year.”
In addition to its educational offerings, the 2016 MDCE featured more than 100 booths in its Expo Hall, staffed by more than 436 manufacturer and supplier representatives.
“What dealers, exhibitors and speakers are telling us,” said Boating Industry Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Sweet, “is that MDCE 2016 brought them together to learn and build connections like never before.”
About the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo
The marine industry’s only dealer-specific educational conference, MDCE offers an in-depth lineup of educational sessions, a full-featured expo hall and a series of fixed networking opportunities, all of which are designed to help marine dealers connect with and learn from others who can foster their success. MDCE is co-produced by MRAA and Boating Industry, and it features four Educational Tracks, 11 Pre-Conference Workshops, three Keynote Presentations, a Learning Lab, Dealer-to-Dealer Roundtable Discussions, and an Innovation Spotlight. For more information, visit MarineDealerConference.com.
About Boating Industry
Boating Industry is the leading trade magazine serving the marine industry. For more than 85 years, boating professionals have turned to Boating Industry for market intelligence, product updates, best practices and industry news. For more information, visit BoatingIndustry.com.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting marine retail businesses, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, visit MRAA.com.
