Members of our team Maximilienne and Rachel were delighted to attend the Toronto International Boat Show, held in mid-January, 2025, at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, Canada.
As we continue to move into new and exciting markets, attending leading boat shows allows us to network, meet new and existing clients, and better understand the unique nuances that drive each market. Having firmly established our US Miami office in 2023, our team is now establishing a base in Canada to enable us to better service clients across the North American continent.
The Toronto International Boat Show is North America’s largest indoor boat show, offering attendees a showcase of thousands of boats, accessories, and leading service providers.
In an exclusive interview, our team spoke with Rick Layzell, CEO of the Boating Ontario Association, a non-profit association that represents 520 member companies across Ontario’s $4.5 billion recreational boating industry.
Rick offered fascinating insights into the Canadian boating industry and the global industry, including sales spikes, future trends, sustainability, the new generation of boating enthusiasts, and yacht marketing.
Yacht sales 2024 & 2025
While 2024 was a down year in the recreational boating sector in Canada, Rick noted that the last quarter saw a curve upwards, which is expected to continue in 2025.
“The recreational boating industry was one of the benefactors of COVID,” explained Rick. “We saw huge spikes in retail sales and demands – dealerships couldn’t keep boats in stock. We saw unseen levels because boating was quickly recognised as a safe sport for families to enjoy during the pandemic.
“However, it was unsustainable growth, and we knew it would balance itself out. So, 2024 was a year when the new boat sales industry dropped about 15% from the average. Used boat sales, however, went up because some of the buyers during the pandemic said this sport isn’t for me. These buyers panic bought during Covid.
“So, where we are today coming into 2025, the industry expects that if we did this in 2024, we felt we bottomed towards the third quarter of 2024. Fall retail was quite brisk, and the consumer saw the retail opportunities last year as great value. We expect the continued curve to move upward, and we expect the industry to continue to grow somewhat this year. We are seeing this trend across all types of boats, from fishing boats to pontoon boats and cruisers.”
Boating industry headwinds in 2025
Rick, however, noted that growth was being curtailed due to several headwinds facing the boating industry in Canada.
“The luxury tax from Ottawa that was brought in in 2022 has eviscerated the big boat market in Canada, and unfortunately, the government brought it out as a luxury tax on yachts,” said Rick.
“The other big headwind facing the industry has been the threat of tariffs, and it’s not Trump’s tariffs that will impact the industry. It is the threat of Ottawa again. With a countermeasure tariff, and they did this to us in 2018 and 2019. We have no idea what they will implement. It’s a waiting game right now.”
Despite these two headwinds, Rick is optimistic about the industry.
“Boating is still an incredible way to connect families on the water, all shapes and sizes of families. There’s been a tremendous vibe here at the Toronto Boat Show, and the interest rate drops in the last two months have acted positively on the mindset of consumers. A luxury boat is, after all, a discretionary purchase, and when the interest rates are intrusively high, it’s another reason for the consumer to say no. We expect the rates to continue to drop another 0.5% this year, so that’s good news for us.”
A new generation of yachting enthusiasts
The boating industry is witnessing a generational shift, with newer audience segments coming to the fore. The luxury yacht marketing experts at Relevance have been tracking this shift as the next generation of consumers reshape yachting, from onboard experiences to boat design and technology.
“One thing that the pandemic brought is our buyers got younger, and that’s really cool,” explained Rick. “We’ve seen a massive uptick in younger families, for example.”
“It’s a global yachting trend, specifically with larger and private vessels. Buyers are becoming younger and younger, and it is their wealth they’re bringing to the table, not necessarily generational wealth.”
Rick added: “It’s a total shift in the target audience. Boating and yachting has always been very traditional, you know, the gentleman’s club, and now we see that just completely opening up across the board.”
Sustainability in the boating industry
While the industry has made huge strides towards sustainability, Rick is cautious about consumer appetite within the boating industry.
“I don’t think we’re there yet,” explained Rick. “I think there is some interest in electrification, although the reality is unlike the auto industry, which is moving towards electrification as the sole source solution. The boating industry requires multiple solutions.”
“Cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs are generally the same size. The boating industry is not. We have inflatable boats that are 8 feet long and luxury yachts that are more than 100 feet long, and they all require multiple technologies that meet the varying sectors and demands.
“Yamaha has introduced a hydrogen engine, which is here. It’s on display at the show here, and the technology is very cool.
“Electrification will probably find its footing in small boats, rental boats to a degree, and pontoon boats. However, a very large part of the boating market is not going to go electric. Take, for example, the angling community that goes 50 miles offshore. They are not going to go electric. That’s where hydrogen is going to come into play,” said Rick.
He added: “Here’s a stat that we don’t talk about enough. The major outboard engine companies, like Yamaha, Mercury, Suzuki, and Honda, moved from all two-stroke technology in the early 90s without being legislated to four-stroke technology, and we wiped out 94% of our hydrocarbon emissions by doing that.”
Yacht marketing
Today’s new generation of yacht owners is changing the shape of yachting, and how the boating industry markets to them needs to change too, noted Rick.
“We need to adapt more of our marketing specifically to target younger generations. We need to quit just having [pictures of] old guys and beautiful women in boats. We need to reflect a more diverse audience.”
On social media, Rick added:
“The industry’s done a really slow job of getting to TikTok, really slow. That’s because today, our customer is on Facebook. That’s great today. However, that customer is dead in 20 years. It’s harsh, but that’s the truth.”
On offline marketing, Rick stated:
“I don’t think print is dead. I think print has its place, but there are some businesses in this industry that don’t do any digital marketing. They are not adapting to the change. It drives me crazy. Your website is your digital front door. I think we’ve got to get better at being where our customers are going to be in the future.”
How can Relevance help?
Relevance is a leading yacht marketing brand headquartered in Monaco that helps brands within the boating industry reach and resonate with their target market. Our full creative and digital marketing services offer a one-stop solution and solid return on investment. With more than 15 years of yacht marketing expertise, our team has worked with small niche industry start-ups and global yachting powerhouses. Contact us today to learn more about your yacht marketing services and how we can help support your brand’s marketing efforts either within Canada, the US, Europe, or globally.