International Charter Expo (ICE) 2024
The International Charter Expo know as ICE 24 Expo is a B2B Charter show that puts people first with its matchmaking software that allows exhibitors and attendees to pre-arrange meetings in advance of the show. Now in its ninth edition the event was relocated from Croatia to Amsterdam this year ahead of METSTRADE running from the13-15 November.
The owner of the Yachmaster Group, Tino Prosenik said, “It’s great to have physical events, but they are very time-consuming and costly. Digital tools are important but it is people who make the difference. Combining the fun of the physical event and the efficiency of the digital event makes this a hybrid show, which makes ICE a unique show in the industry.”
Antonija Hajman Cagalj, CEO of the Yachtmaster Group, which also operates the Croatia Yacht Show and publishes Icebreaker magazine, an annual directory for the charter industry, commented, “We wanted to relocate the show every few years to make the show more interesting for everyone. Amsterdam is a central location with good flight connections from nearby Schiphol airport making it more accessible for many attendees attending from outside of Europe. What sets ICE apart from other shows is that we focus on connecting charter businesses and one of the key tools we use is our own match-making software ‘Handshake’. Last year our exhibitors and visitors had more than 30,000 pre-arranged meetings.”
The event exhibitor and visitor profiles are divided into three broad segments, Charter brokers, Fleet operators and Suppliers with over 200 exhibiting booths representing 600 brands. Most of the exhibitors and attendees are senior industry professionals which means that serious business can happen at the event.” This year’s event saw 1,500 registered visitors attending from many countries including several from Asia. “We don’t encourage random visitors as this would distract from the matchmaking strategy which is mostly done online before the event.”
An APSA member attending the event this year was Margaux Detry and the team from Sea Leisure Yachting Group (SLYG).” Margaux Detry, Marketing Manager for the SLYG said, “As a shipyard, and charter operator with a fleet of catamarans in Sri Lanka, this event gives us the opportunity to connection with the European charter market on two fronts. We can talk to charter operators looking to expand their fleet of custom-built catamarans, as well as talk to the charter brokers looking for new destinations for their clients to charter yachts such as our Ocean Voyager. Sri Lanka has a lot to offer the charter market and during this show I had over 30 interviews and meetings lined up. We will be definitely be back next year especially if it will be held in Amsterdam again, as this is an easy destination hub to access.”
Over its nine-years ICE has pioneered a completely new exhibition concept for the marine industry with both exhibitors and uniquely, for a B2B trade show, the visitors paying to attend and use the match-making software. The charter market has developed rapidly as global trends have shown that consumers have moved away from ownership to short-term hire, a trend that has been clear in the leisure marine industry.
Currently, the supply of new boats is now exceeding demand in many markets, coupled with weakening consumer demand due to global uncertainty. The market is in uncharted territory, however, in the two days that APSA attended ICE, the event was certainly busy and talking with exhibitors and visitors it was an undoubted success with many impressed with the efficiency of the match-making software. ICE has proven to be a new B2B exhibition concept, and it will be interesting to see if its success can be replicated in other sectors of the marine industry.