PIBS 2025 Event Report

Yacht show silly season has begun. In the space of a week the industry hosts the MYBA Charter Show, PIBS, the World Superyacht Awards and MEDYS. The hardy few take on all four, the sensible among us attempt to visit one or two.

For SYR, it was our fourth visit to our favourite Balearic island. Palma has grown to be a major force in yachting and one of the world’s major yacht refit hubs. With warm weather for much of the year and some of the most skilled craftspeople in the Med, along with excellent access to most corners of Europe, it’s long been attractive to yacht owners of all shapes and sizes.

PIBS (Palma International Boat Show) is a great show. Still in its infancy compared to many others, it brings together the world of series production yachts, tenders, toys and equipment alongside its sibling show Palma Superyacht Show, which showcases a range of yachts and businesses in the 30m+ sector.

New for 2025 is the ‘New Build Hub’, a secondary location at the newly rebuilt Club del Mar focussing on superyacht new build. A work in progress, this year it only played host to around 12 yachts and a similar number of trade stands, however it shows promise for the wider growth of the show outside its current location which is somewhat full to the brim now.

Representing SYR this year were Ed, our CEO, and Simon, our Senior Consultant in brokerage and yacht management recruitment. We attended the show to meet with a number of our existing clients based on the island and met with a host of new businesses aiming to attract further custom.

Whilst most show reports are deliberately positive to signal a successful event, we aren’t lying in saying that this was likely our best show in the four years we’ve been in business. With so many macroeconomic challenges facing the highly sensitive yachting sector, there’s been an air of concern around industry performance especially in terms of new sales and charter. Whilst the industry has remained robust and tracking in a fairly steady fashion, those in senior roles have been quietly watching the market for signs of decline. Not so any more it seems…

As a business, SYR operate across a host of technical, operational and commercial disciplines. Our targets for PIBS were obvious. Growing relationships with existing clients and chasing down new ones. We left the show with leads on new opportunities across marinas, new build, refit, design and the OEM sector. Some with brand new clients and some within the existing client network.

With networking opportunities maximised both during the day and night (Ed was even discussing careers planning with a candidate on a morning run) we return to the office with a great outlook through the next 3-6 months of the year, keen to get stuck into a host of opportunities across the Eurozone.

But what do we think of the show as a whole?

The usual show area has remained broadly untouched, barring a few changes to the Superyacht Square and Refit & Bar areas. A tried and tested model, so why switch it up? For a second year, the Balearic Superyacht Forum has been held alongside the show. Whilst we can’t offer direct feedback as we didn’t attend, word from those who did felt it to sit a little too close to November’s Global Superyacht Forum to really hit the spot. Likewise, the New Build Hub has some huge potential and we hope to see it back for 2026, however our experience (along with those we spoke to) was somewhat flat in terms of its success in its current iteration.

We look forward to what’s already gearing up to be a busy show season, but for now it’s time to work through a mountain of business cards and job leads for our lucky jobseekers!