International Multihull Show Draws Record Fleet, Global Catamaran Buyers

The International Multihull Show closed in La Grande Motte with a clear market signal: catamaran demand is getting more international, more specialized and more serious about comparison shopping. The 2026 edition, held April 22 to April 26, put 82 multihulls on display, the largest fleet in the show’s history, and drew its highest level of international participation yet.

That mix matters more than the attendance headline. Overall visitor numbers were down 5 percent from 2025, but the show attracted a record international audience from 27 European countries, along with visitors from North and South America, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia. For a buyer’s market built on long-range planning and cross-border dealmaking, that kind of spread points to a multihull sector that is no longer being driven only by local or regional foot traffic.

The physical layout told the same story. Organizers added a third marina, moved the visitor entrance closer to the town center and introduced a free electric shuttle service. The result was a cleaner path between the boats and the exhibitor village, where builders, designers, equipment manufacturers and service providers filled out the full multihull ecosystem. That tighter circulation matters because buyers at this level are not browsing casually. They are moving from hull to hull, comparing deck plans, propulsion packages, access arrangements and the practical details that decide resale strength later.

The show’s most revealing angle was how closely its lineup tracked the direction of the market. The Multihull Design & Innovation Area brought together naval architects, startups and equipment makers, while the presence of powercats, hybrid systems and electric solutions underscored rising interest in autonomy, efficiency and lower environmental impact. The 2026 press kit said multihulls continue to pull in new boaters because they offer more space, comfort, stability, ease of use and environmental performance, and that is exactly the mix buyers are weighing now when they look at what will hold value in the next ownership cycle.

Anaïs David said the event continued to evolve with the market, and the 2026 edition backed that up with scale and reach rather than just spectacle. Launched in 2010 as an afloat-only show, the International Multihull Show has grown from a dedicated niche gathering into the benchmark place to read the mood of the sector. In 2025, the show featured more than 70 boats and, for the first time, two marinas. A year later it expanded again to three. The next edition is already set for April 2027, with organizers planning to name a focus country for each future show, a sign that La Grande Motte intends to keep widening the global lens on where catamaran buyers are coming from and what they want next.