Boat and Marine Show 2023 to kick-off on 27 October at Port City Marina

• Boat building, marine services, engineering services, charter companies, accessory and component manufacturers will display products in 66 stalls
• ‘Nautical Tourism and Grow Boating’ conference scheduled for 28 October at Kingsbury Hotel

Boat and Marine Show 2023 organised by Chamber of Marine Industries of Sri Lanka (CMISL) and Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) in association with Industries Ministry, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) and other relevant stakeholders will be held from 27-29 October 2023 at the Port City Marina, Colombo. 

The 8th edition of the Boat Show is organised with the objective of enhancing the international profile of Sri Lanka as a marine tourism destination and a quality boat manufacturing hub and will be showcasing the country’s capabilities in marine tourism, recreational boating, yachting and boat building which is mainly focused on exports.

The Boat show in Sri Lanka is a dynamic platform to exhibit the country›s capabilities in the boatbuilding industry, from craftsmanship to innovation and to forge valuable connections with international partners, investors, and clients. It can effectively position Sri Lanka as a competitive player in the global boatbuilding market. 

EDB has been the key stakeholder of the Boat Show since its inception and this show has opened up a new frontier of fishing, leisure, industrial and commercial vessels and marine tourism.

Around 40 leading boat buildings, marine services, engineering services, charter companies and accessory and component manufacturers will display boat and boating related products and services in 66 stalls. Further the marina will be used for water display of Boats, Catamarans etc. and for water activities.

This year the show will be organised in the Port City; a world-class city to be developed in South Asia providing the highest quality commercial, entertainment, medical, education and lifestyle opportunities. This state-of-the-art marina offers an ideal venue for the event, providing ample docking space for an array of boats, from small watercraft to luxurious yachts, ensuring that exhibitors can conveniently showcase their vessels. 

The marina›s strategic location within the Colombo Port City offers easy access for participants and visitors, both domestic and international, fostering increased participation and attendance. With its modern facilities, the Port City Marina also provides essential amenities and services, such as maintenance and repair services, ensuring that the boats on display are in top-notch condition. Moreover, its proximity to the emerging Port City development offers a dynamic and attractive backdrop for the boat show, underscoring the potential for business, tourism, and investment opportunities within this ambitious urban project. Port City Marina significantly enhances the Boat Show›s effectiveness as a platform to exhibit Sri Lanka›s boatbuilding industry and its potential on the global stage. 

An extensive promotional campaign will be carried out by EDB, Tourism Promotion Bureau and CMISL to promote the show locally and internationally with the objective of enhancing the awareness of Sri Lanka’s boating, nautical tourism and marine industry among the boating enthusiasts of the respective countries.

 The buyers from the countries of Maldives, India, Seychelles, Egypt and Mauritius confirmed their participation at the show with the objective of sourcing boats from Sri Lanka exploring future business ventures, investment opportunities in the Boating, Nautical tourism and Marine industry. 

International journalists from International Boating Industry (IBI) magazine will visit the show to witness the event. 

An International Conference on ‘Nautical Tourism and Grow Boating’ is scheduled on 28 October 2023, parallel to the Boat and Marine Show with the participation of local and overseas industry representatives at the Kingsbury Hotel Colombo. 

The conference is mainly focused on nautical tourism and will be an ideal platform for promoting Sri Lanka as a Nautical Tourism destination. 

Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka are booming and reached one million in September this year, highest after the COVID pandemic showcasing green light to the nautical tourism sector in Sri Lanka. This show and the conference to be organised will also be an appropriate platform to create awareness of marine tourism and leisure boating culture among the tourists and general public.

The boat building industry in Sri Lanka from the beginning has demonstrated its ability to develop designs and build state-of-the art boats that meet international quality and performance standards to cater to the international market requirements contributing significantly to raise the level of overall export performance of the country. 

Further the industry has shown significant growth in the last decade and has proven its ability to diversify and access new market destinations such as Singapore, Maldives, Japan, Netherlands and African Region. 

The boat and ship building industry has achieved $67 million this year up to August and expects to increase this amount significantly by next year with the initiatives by the EDB in the fields of supply chain development, technology enhancement and local and international promotion.