With the fall sun shining, clear skies overhead and some of the world’s most impressive yachts bobbing gently on South Florida’s calm blue waters, the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (FLIBS) doesn’t just attract people to buy boats — it tempts them to join a years-long migration of wealth and population.
“The great thing is that people sometimes who come here for the first time thinking they’re going to buy a boat, and they end up buying a condo, or they end up buying a home, because they realize the experience down here is so unmatched by any other place they’ve come to visit or even live in themselves,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis told Fox News Digital.
“There are many things fueling the migration to South Florida,” said Daniel de la Vega, president of ONE Sotheby’s International Realty. “The job growth has been unprecedented… We’ve seen companies continue to move here to South Florida across many, many different industries.”
“I think Florida is a wonderful place to live, work and play,” said Kurt Drstvensek, managing director of Related Group. “It’s a business-friendly place, the weather is amazing, people are very friendly, and I think it will continue to draw more folks of all different demographics and wealth to the state.”
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“I think that the crowd and the energy and the demographics of the buyer, it traverses all markets,” said Jimmy Tate, CEO and co-founder of Tate Capital. “Many of them end up buying here and staying here, their second home or permanent home.”
Marking its 66th year, FLIBS holds the title of the world’s largest in-water boat show. It generates nearly $1.8 billion annually for the local economy, with the city’s mayor saying 2025 will be its “most successful year in history.”
Fort Lauderdale’s Downtown Development Authority recently released a “Fueled by Water” report showing more than $12 billion invested in new waterfront projects over the past year, with 70% of residents living within 10 minutes of the water—supporting a $43 billion downtown economy. The city’s yachting industry alone is worth $36 billion, the report found.
“The boat show not only increases the visibility, but it also provides many jobs for so many people. There might be $800 or $900 million worth of boat sales and equipment and motors and things like that throughout the weekend,” Trantalis said. “And that’s not even counting people buying condominiums or buying vehicles, too, because there are people selling cars here as well … It creates an opportunity for the city to really shine.”
“We are the boating capital of the world,” Tate said. “A lot of the people keep their yachts here at the Bahia Mar year-round after they buy them … So it’s great for the economy, it’s good for South Florida, it’s great for boat sellers and the manufacturers and the people that are associated with the marine industry. So it really helps everybody.”
“Fort Lauderdale has really come into its own. It’s no longer the quiet neighbor of Miami, and it’s really being driven by investments here,” de la Vega said. “People come, they look at yachts, they have fun, they understand our lifestyle … and then, of course, they get interested in real estate … and then they eventually either want to make an investment here in Fort Lauderdale or they look to make it their home.”
“They come to see yachts, but they end up buying real estate. And for us, that’s a huge win,” he continued.
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Watching the wealth migration in motion at the boat show, the business leaders boost the event as a defining factor of South Florida’s spirit and culture.
“The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show [has] just a great and rich history,” according to Drstvensek. “The boat show has a great energy and South Florida certainly has that same energy, if not even more. So they correlate perfectly together … From our side in the real estate development business and developing this iconic [St. Regis Bahia Mar] property, it just highlights it and brings folks here.”
“All of South Florida is experiencing a wonderful renaissance, in particular Fort Lauderdale … has seen an enormous amount of population growth,” the mayor said. “It’s an amazing migration from all over different parts of the country, whether it be from the Midwest, the Northeast, even the West Coast … It’s so easy to live here. It’s much more reasonable in terms of trying to get ahead economically.”
Trantalis shared a story from the event: “A gentleman came up to me … he said, ‘Mayor, I just want you to know that I have an investment banking company in New York, and we’re moving my entire staff, my entire family to Fort Lauderdale… because we have come to experience what paradise is like here in your city.’”
Looking ahead, city and business leaders say diversifying the local economy will define South Florida’s next growth phase.
“We want to pivot and make sure that we’re not simply relying on hospitality,” Trantalis said, “but that we can find a way for people to create a career path for themselves that takes them in their own direction.”
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“[The next phase] will be continued growth,” Drstvensek assured. “I think folks have come here from the Northeast, Texas, the Midwest, all over the world, and they go back to those places where they used to live and talk to friends, and you constantly hear more and more people wanting to come here and not just vacation here, but really make it a home.”
“This is just the beginning,” de la Vega said. “But this is really what’s driving people, when you get to come here, experience this lifestyle and the different venues … is really what’s driving communities in South Florida to continue to be the aspiration for people around the world.”
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