As the Palm Beach International Boat Show begins, boating officials admit it’s been one thing after another for the industry in recent years.
The annual boat show begins Wednesday, March 25 and runs through Sunday, March 29 along the West Palm Beach waterfront. As in prior years, the show will be big — featuring more than 900 boats on display, from 8-foot inflatables to nearly 300-foot superyachts. The show’s total inventory exceeds $1 billion.
As for the boating industry in general, they, like other industries, have faced a lot recently.
Six years ago, it was the COVID pandemic, then supply-chain problems. In early 2025, boat sales were affected by the Trump administration tariffs, which ratcheted up after April 2.
Nevertheless, the economy, and boat sales, late last year looked to be on a steady rebound.
Now spiked gasoline prices are affecting every corner of the market.
Most boat show officials predict weakened demand from consumers who are price-sensitive about gasoline or who need a loan to buy a boat. “It’s 100% relative to the size of your pocketbook,” Centennial Bank’s Druey said.
A boat holds 100 to 200 gallons of fuel, he said. With average gas prices up more than 50 cents a gallon since March 1, “that’s a big discrepancy to fill your vessel up,” Druey said.
Not surprisingly, boat show officials are pinning their hopes on wealthy customers traveling to Palm Beach County from all over the world.
“We’re intensively excited,” said Anders Kurtén, chief executive of Monaco-based Fraser Yachts. “Palm Beach is one of the mainstays in our superyacht boat shows.”
So far, it’s been a strong year for sales, Kurtén said, with Fraser selling a whopping 12 yachts in 12 days in January. And for the 15th consecutive year, more people bought and sold yachts with Fraser than with any other company, with 56 yachts sold in 2025.
The Palm Beach International Boat Show’s Doole agreed that the superyacht business is especially important. “We’ve got some larger vessels, more than we’ve ever had before,” Doole added. “This is a record year for us.”
Alexandra Clough is a business writer at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at aclough@pbpost.com. X: @acloughpbp. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Gas prices hit boat sales, but superyachts are booming
Reporting by Alexandra Clough, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
