THE NUMBER of visitors to Southampton's Boat Show slumped by 14 per cent this year, the Daily Echo can reveal.

Organisers have blamed bad weather for the drop in attendance.

Early figures based on ticket sales suggest 123,000 people each paid £14 to go to this year's event. Last year, when tickets cost £12, final visitor numbers totalled 143,000.

The fall in numbers came despite the fact that the 36th annual edition of the show was the biggest yet, with a record number of attractions, 20 per cent more exhibition space and one and a quarter miles of pontoons. However, event bosses said it had still been a success.

Paul Streeter, managing director of organisers National Boat Shows, said: "The show has proven to be incredibly robust and, although grey skies have prevented a record year for attendance, it's certainly been a success with additions like our extended marina and the new Solent Park area helping to pull in the crowds.

"New attractions like HMS Newcastle and the Honda Formula 4-stroke racing finals have appealed to families and heightened the show's appeal to a broader audience."

The show got off to a promising start with the arrival of Britian's Olympic sailing heroes, followed by Ellen MacArthur, who gave crowds one of the first opportunities to see her new B&Q trimaran.

Spectators were also wowed by the Honda Formula 4-stroke racing finals while others flocked to view HMS Newcastle, which proved to be a popular addition to this year's event. Another newcomer to the show was Ross Burden's restaurant, The Waterfront, which saw 2,500 people sampling his culinary delights.

As reported in the Daily Echo, boat sales were also expected to be down by 25 per cent overall but some healthy deals were still done.

Ian Braham, head of marine finance at Lombard, said: "The average deal size is £110,000 and we are seeing this weighted at 70 per cent powerboats to 30 per cent sailboats."

Sealine International managing director Patrik Von Sydow added: "We have had a very good show, selling 60 boats which exceeded our expectations."

Technix Rubber and Plastics reported their best sales in 20 years at this year's show and first-time exhibitor Brian Atherton of Explorer Boats also averaged two boat sales per day.

Improvements are already being planned for next year's event, with the main entrance marquee, Solent Hall, relocating to Solent Park, a brand new waterside site next to Mayflower Park where the show is currently based.