2020 Dinghy Show

Unfortunately I travel from the Midlands to the South East for business purposes a lot, both by car and by train so I am way more familiar than I'd like to be with journey times. I've can do a day trip via train to central London quite easily, we had HS2 20 years back but it was called the east coast main line. The bit that doesn't work for me is the appalling public transport  once I get to Kings Cross. Going to Farnborough rather than Alex Palace by train adds an hour each way, but its adding the bit of the journey I really dislike, ie  tube and local rail. Travelling by car to Alex Palace is usually 2.5 hours, google maps says Farnborough is 2 hours 50 minutes but means doing a long section of M25 so I think the journey time is likely to more like 3.5 hours. An extra hour each way might not seem much, but for me it's the difference between doing it as a day trip or not so I'll pass in future. As others have said its swings and roundabouts, those folk south or west of London will have an easier journey and I'm sure some folk in the Midlands and North will live with the extra travel time. 

So the wider question is does the Show perform any real marketing function for any indivdual class at all? There is an angle for the maunfacturers, becuase it is a reletively cheap way to connect to your existing customer base, and there is a PR function for the RYA, but do any classes really benefit?

Assuming the answer is no, is there a better/ more cost effective way for the RYA , and the manufacturers/classes to show off dinghy sailing to a new audience, and try to expand their customer base? Maybe put the same funds into developing a really good online sailing web site to properly inform and help to direct people into the right classes and clubs for them, all year round?.