With many more exhibitors, visitors as well as beautiful yachts on display than the last year, the Singapore Yacht Show 2012 hosted by the ONE°15 Marina Club in Sentosa Cove ended on a high note meeting all expectations. At the same time, the 4th Asia Pacific Superyacht Conference, which was held 2 days before the yacht show, also reported an important increase in delegate numbers.
Singapore Yacht Show 2012
The growing interest in both events is indicative of the rapid development of the yachting industry in the region. “The feedback from exhibitors is very encouraging. A lot of seriously important sales have been made, many more negotiations are underway, and dealers are being appointed for the brands. With a big increase in the number of yachts on display and in all levels of participation, including 10% more visitors, we can hand-on-heart say this first full edition of the Singapore Yacht Show has been a great success,” said Andy Treadwell, Managing Director of the show.
“We know there is a tremendous potential for growth in the yachting industry in Asia but we also know that’s not going to happen overnight. We need to keep on delivering top quality events and provide a solid platform for yacht builders and brokers to expand their reach into the region. We’ll host more exhibitors and more yachts each year to attract even more of the very wealthy individuals from all around Asia next year.”
The many leading international industry players attending were in agreement: “The Singapore Yacht Show grew in maturity this year and it was superb to see some of the world’s leading brands bringing their yachts to the region. This was matched in the sophistication of the visitors and we had a better educated and higher quality of visitor aboard our 5 yachts in the show than at any show we have participated at in the Asia-Pacific region”, commented Simon Turner, Director, Northrop and Johnson Asia.
But there is a long way to go to build up the industry in the region, as Jean Jacques Lavigne, Executive Director from Superyacht Singapore Association explained: “This second edition of the Singapore Yacht Show proved that there is space and a need for a show in Southeast Asia for the higher end of the boat market, especially the superyachts. Such a focus attracts ancillary high-end products and services that add value to the show. SYS, along with the Asia Pacific Superyacht Conference, is now firmly part of the superyacht industry calendar and, as partner of both events, the Superyacht Singapore Association is delighted to see that its vision to turn Singapore into a superyacht hub is turning into reality, be it for hardware or software.”
The increase in participation at both the Asia Pacific Superyacht Conference and the Singapore Yacht Show reflects the region’s growing importance for the superyacht and luxury boat sector – the trend is definitely upwards. “There is still plenty of work to do to satisfy the specific needs of the nascent regional market and to develop the particular flavor of the superyacht industry in this part of the world. SYS is an essential event to precisely define Asia’s own space and culture in this incredibly exciting industry” added Lavigne.
The Singapore government is keen to continue to create a supportive environment for the superyacht industry which needs many marine industries to support it, and which also make a valuable contribution to Singapore’s tourism industry. Government support from the whole region is critical for the yachting industry and is likely to increase as they realise the value of yacht tourism and the contribution by the marine leisure industry to their economies. The market is currently being driven by businesses such as marina infrastructure and manufacturers planning for the long term.
Kristian Rame, Regional Director Asia, Marinetek Group, an international manufacturer of premium marinas and floating structures reported, “We found Asia Superyacht Conference a very effective way to become updated about the movers and shakers of the industry in Asia and to network with some of the key-people. Many of the presentations and contacts we discussed with confirmed our understanding of the increasing demand for well-designed quality marinas in the region. We also believe that our message of involving the marina supplier early and choosing the solution provider wisely went through, too. All in all, the elegant set-up with the conference, gala dinner and yacht show served its purpose very well.”
Exhibitors like US based superyacht builder, Westport, said the show had gone well for them, giving them great exposure for the brand. Whilst yacht brokers Hong Seh Marine reported sales of both a Cranchi and a Riva. Swedish builder J Craft sold the boat they brought over for the show and are in the process of appointing a dealer in Singapore.
Also reporting a highly positive participation was Paul Whelan, General Manager, Simpson Marine (SEA): “The Singapore Yacht Show was a resounding success for us. We sold two stunning Azimut yachts at the show and two sailing yachts within two days of the show. There were many serious buyers and we have gathered over 100 qualified leads. The show definitely exceeded our expectations and surpassed its 2011 success.”
