Sail-World.com : Singapore to host Asia Superyacht Industry Conference in October
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Singapore to host Asia Superyacht Industry Conference in October |
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'Many super and mega yachts, like the Moecca built by Oceanfast Australia, are lured to the excitement of events held in Singapore.'
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With its aim solely on capitalizing on the increased interest in cruising in the region, the Superyacht Singapore Association (SSA) will host the 1st Annual Asia Superyacht Industry Conference, 13-15 October 2009 in Singapore.
According to event organizer, Simon Turner, Managing Director at Iconovista, there is a desperate need for networking and unified direction for the development of infrastructure and resources to support visiting superyachts.
'The whole of the yachting world is looking to Asia as the next great cruising ground and we are seeing a steady growth of both visiting yachts and privately owned yachts in the region, however, Asia is behind the traditional hot spots of the Mediterranean and Caribbean when it comes to infrastructure and facilities. The prime objective of the conference is to identify what the region needs to do to set an effective agenda to create a sustainable superyacht industry.'
Key issues include:
• Identifying the key infrastructure required, in terms of marinas and service facilities, to support a growing amount of superyacht traffic
• An analysis of current superyacht building capability in Asia and who these superyachts are being sold to
• An insight into the almost unknown and stunning cruising grounds in Asia
• Understanding how to successfully grow the superyacht charter business in Asia
• An overview of Government regulation and superyacht activism in the region
• An insight into the mind of the Asian superyacht owner and an owner’s perspective on requirements of a superyacht
'We are delighted to be organizing this inaugural superyacht conference in Singapore,' says SSA Executive Director Jean-Jacques Lavigne. 'Our objective is to gather all of the important players from Asia as well as interested parties from the rest of the world to push the agenda to really open up and grow the superyacht industry in Asia.'
The two day conference will include keynote presentations and a mixture of round table discussion groups designed to open up commercial opportunities and create new international partnerships. On the third day, there will be a visit to the facilities in Singapore, including the plot of land earmarked for marine purposes in Tuas.
'It is very exciting to be able to hold a first event of this nature. We aim to ensure that this event creates commercial opportunities for attendees and opens up new projects that companies in the industry from around the world can become involved in.'
Also invited will be governments who are supportive of the marine sector, such as South Korea, marina developers, charter operators, yacht builders and Port Authorities.
Turner, whose own expertise was acquired from working with Simpson Marine in Hong Kong and Singapore, believes it’s only a matter of time before the region’s potential is fully realised.
'The main objective of the conference is to address the barriers to the growth of the industry, which include a lack of regional integration, regulations, permits, marinas, licensing. We are trying to get the key people together from Asian countries and set an agenda, outlining the opportunities and potential in the superyacht market and what we need to do to achieve it.'
In 2008, the SSA registered a total superyacht presence of 54 vessels in Singapore, equivalent to a 93% growth rate year to year. This comes after an 87% growth rate between 2006 and 2007. In spite of the economic downturn, SSA believes traffic can hit 80 unique superyachts in 2009, equivalent to a 60% year-to-year growth. The SSA identifies local strengths as plentiful berths in marinas which include the prestigious Raffles Marina, RSYC and the award-winning ONE°15 Marina Club, winner of the Best Asian Marina/Yacht Club of the Year for 2009 in the 5th Annual Asia Boating Awards. The inaugural Singapore F1 GP last year boosted traffic in September, so the SSA is optimistic of a similar level of visitation this year.
A full program will be released in the coming weeks and a number of speakers have already confirmed their participation. The SSA invites anyone who feels they can add to the conference to submit details of any papers that they would like to present. To express interest in presenting at the event, contact Priscilla Tang on email: marketing@superyacht.sg
More at www.iconovista.com and www.superyacht.sg
by Jeni Bone
12:52 AM Fri 3 Jul 2009 GMT
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