290: Shaping the vision for Monaco Yacht Show 2026: In conversation with Toby Moore, CEO, Informa Prestige

You arrived to the Monaco Yacht Show at quite an interesting point in its trajectory.

So can you tell me what you think is the biggest opportunity for the show right now?

Uh, well, the show, as you know, has been going for 35 years, and my role isn't to, uh, rewrite that legacy.

Uh, for me it's really quite simple.

It's about ele- elevating the experience of the show.

Um, great foundations have been, uh, established over those 35 years.

It's a brilliant show.

Uh, the team have continued to do an, an amazing job, uh, at the show.

And actually, when you, when you th-think about the team, there's many people, and I, I won't embarrass them, who have been at the show, some for, uh, over 10, some over 15, some over 20, I think, looking at Johan.

Um, so yeah, so we've got, we've got an, an amazing team.

So, uh, that certainly doesn't need changing.

Uh, but what we do need to do is make sure that we stick to those foundations, elevate the experience, and, uh, just m- just make it a better show as much as we possibly can.

Uh, and I think how do we do that, um, as you mentioned in the, uh, introduction, I'm the, uh, CEO of Informa Prestige, uh, and that really means bringing, you know, not just Monaco Yacht Show, but the, the adjacencies such as Top Mart Monaco, uh, such as Art Monte Carlo.

I mean, we're in this fabulous, uh, pavilion for boats, so hopefully that demonstrates our, our commitment to, uh, to make this a, a much more luxury lifestyle experience for people coming here.

And it's really about, um, it's about kind of purpose over presence.

We can have a lot of people coming to the show, but we want to make sure we get the right type of person coming to the show.

Um, and I think the other thing that's really important to remember is that, uh, we're reading a lot now about the audience getting younger, so really moving from their 60s to the 50s, and it's really for us to make sure that we serve that audience in the right, uh, in the right manner.

Of course.

And a big part of what the audience is doing now is they are buying yachts slightly differently.

There's been a real explosion in digital.

Do you think that the digital marketplace could ever replace this boat show experience?

Uh, it's a good question, and actually, um, I, I, I sit here with a bit, with a, with a kind of lot of experience in that 'cause in COVID, um, Stuart and I, um, we launched the virtual boat show.

Uh, and it was, uh, it was a very successful, uh, initiative.

Uh, but it became very, very clear that, um, not having that human interaction is vital.

Uh, and it's about the experience of being on a boat, uh, and it's the kind of senses that you experience, you know, the touching of the materials, feeling the air, the smell, going into the cabins, you know, really, really cal- having that kind of, uh, sensual experience that digital can never replace.

You arrived to the Monaco Yacht Show at quite an interesting point in its trajectory.

So can you tell me what you think is the biggest opportunity for the show right now?

Uh, well, the show, as you know, has been going for 35 years, and my role isn't to, uh, rewrite that legacy.

Uh, for me it's really quite simple.

It's about ele- elevating the experience of the show.

Um, great foundations have been, uh, established over those 35 years.

It's a brilliant show.

Uh, the team have continued to do an, an amazing job, uh, at the show.

And actually, when you, when you th-think about the team, there's many people, and I, I won't embarrass them, who have been at the show, some for, uh, over 10, some over 15, some over 20, I think, looking at Johan.

Um, so yeah, so we've got, we've got an, an amazing team.

So, uh, that certainly doesn't need changing.

Uh, but what we do need to do is make sure that we stick to those foundations, elevate the experience, and, uh, just m- just make it a better show as much as we possibly can.

Uh, and I think how do we do that, um, as you mentioned in the, uh, introduction, I'm the, uh, CEO of Informa Prestige, uh, and that really means bringing, you know, not just Monaco Yacht Show, but the, the adjacencies such as Top Mart Monaco, uh, such as Art Monte Carlo.

I mean, we're in this fabulous, uh, pavilion for boats, so hopefully that demonstrates our, our commitment to, uh, to make this a, a much more luxury lifestyle experience for people coming here.

And it's really about, um, it's about kind of purpose over presence.

We can have a lot of people coming to the show, but we want to make sure we get the right type of person coming to the show.

Um, and I think the other thing that's really important to remember is that, uh, we're reading a lot now about the audience getting younger, so really moving from their 60s to the 50s, and it's really for us to make sure that we serve that audience in the right, uh, in the right manner.

Of course.

And a big part of what the audience is doing now is they are buying yachts slightly differently.

There's been a real explosion in digital.

Do you think that the digital marketplace could ever replace this boat show experience?

Uh, it's a good question, and actually, um, I, I, I sit here with a bit, with a, with a kind of lot of experience in that 'cause in COVID, um, Stuart and I, um, we launched the virtual boat show.

Uh, and it was, uh, it was a very successful, uh, initiative.

Uh, but it became very, very clear that, um, not having that human interaction is vital.

Uh, and it's about the experience of being on a boat, uh, and it's the kind of senses that you experience, you know, the touching of the materials, feeling the air, the smell, going into the cabins, you know, really, really cal- having that kind of, uh, sensual experience that digital can never replace.