Time to walk the walk...
14 Oct 09: On the 2nd and final conference day, presentations were made by the Singapore and Australian Superyacht associations, who expanded on future growth plans for the Asian Pacific region and problems they have encountered so far. Robin Engel, Head of GAHAWISRI the Indonesian Marine Tourism Assoc and Vincent Tabuteau from the Thai Marine Business Assoc, outlined the success in forming national marine associations, especially if the pleasure yacht industry want the ear and put forward a respectable voice when dealing with government policies and regulations. The Indonesians plan to scrap the unworkable customs bond on visiting yachts by early 2010 and are implementing a 'Unity in Diversity' solution finding policy. Gareth Twist's great summery on Superyacht refits, facilities and service in Thailand would firmly place Phuket as the Superyacht Capital of Asia.

Just to clarify things a little, a Superyacht is from 80 feet and above. A Megayacht is 120 feet and above. They range from privately owned Motor and Sailing Vessels for their own use to commercial charter yachts for the rich and famous which normally operate in popular marine tourism destinations. The average price for a superyacht in 2008 was around US$ 42 million and the Estimated Fleet Value around the world was over US$ 85 billion. So you can see how important it is that the relatively untapped Asian region go with the flow and well worth trying to get a larger slice of the action.

The South China Sea has often been considered by International cruisers as the last, biggest and perhaps the best cruising grounds to open in the world. If that is the case then significant work needs to be done on the regional marine infrastructure to service these large vessels and learn to treat them with tender care. Some of the obstacles the Aussie's had to hurdle were Federal Charter and Immigration Regulations when operating foreign flag and crewed vessels in Australian waters. All agreed that for the industry to grow quickly, finding a safer and alternative cheaper route from Europe and the USA will need the efforts of all countries along the way to row the boat in the same direction. Most countries have embarked on some sort of Marina building plan (Some faster than others) and developing local pleasure boating policies, which have resulted in some new yacht clubs coming online and domestic sailing authorities conducting racing events and trying to develop a sailing culture amongst interested Asians.

If a sudden influx of Chinese multi millionaires do start taking up the luxurious lifestyle of the rich and famous, we better start equipping existing marinas (Old and new) with suitable repair and service facilities. The lively afternoon Panel Discussions reviewed the conference and set a possible agenda for Asia. All this cannot be achieved overnight and is more likely to grow at a steady pace over the next few years. At least the thought process has been set in motion.

Arthur Tay and his Singapore Superyacht team must be commended for organising and successfully conducting the 1st Asia Superyacht Conference. The general consensus is that good dialog be established with the European and USA markets plus generate a broader scale of communications to promote the Asian region onto the world stage. Time will tell.

As AsianYachting is a specialist marine leisure promotion company, our contribution over the next few months will be to develop a one-stop Marina Guide with berthing rates, slip sizes, maps, and photos, initially for all marinas in Malaysia then expanding to the rest of Asia. We welcome our subscribers to forward any press releases, photos and promotion articles on marine leisure related activities in the Asian Pacific region, so we can circulate the News and inform the respective members as it comes to hand.

More info and further details at: http://www.superyacht.sg/

ASC 09 - AY Update 1: http://asianyachting.com/news/SSC09/1.htm
ASC 09 - AY Update 2: http://asianyachting.com/news/SSC09/2.htm

This ASC 09 - AY Update is kindly bought to you by the following supporters