Bruce Hedrick is in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, checking out the Taiwan International Boat Show. This is the first of his reports from on the scene. –KH
May 6th Kaohsiung, Taiwan
It’s my first day here after a 12.5 hour flight from Seattle to Taipei followed by a 45 minute flight from Taipei to Kaohsiung. As you may recall, we were here two years ago when the government announced plans for the largest International Boat Show in SE Asia. The plans were ambitious however after checking into the 85 Story Sky Tower Hotel, I took a short walk around the sparkling, brand new Kaohsiung Exhibition and Convention Center (KECC) and all I can say is WOW! They’ve done it and they’ve done it right and this show will open, on time, on the 8th of May.
To give you some idea just how big this facility is lets start with the Seattle Boat Show at the CLINK. Utilizing all the space, the Northwest Marine Trade Association utilizes 300,000 square foot space. The KECC occupies over 700,000 square feet and has the vertical clearance in the South Hall that will allow the folks from Tayana to put the spar up on their new 54-footer. In the space above the North Hall there is an entire floor of meeting rooms, large enough to easily hold 100+ people seated comfortably at tables. The seminar rooms at the Seattle Boat Show get cozy with just 50 people and some times they simply can’t accommodate all the people who wish to attend.
I wasn’t able to get into either one of the display halls as they were closely monitored and allowing only people with hard hats and badges to enter. Maybe tomorrow.
Clearly this is going to be a big deal and it should be fun to go to the premier event in this beautiful facility.
Here are some of my photos. Click on any to enlarge.
