The Asia Pacific Superyacht Conference was hosted over two days (10-11 April 2018) and is an important place to gather and share knowledge about the opportunities and drivers for growth and success of yachting in Asia.

Panel discussions included ‘Building a Marina Network in Asia’ and ‘Building Confidence for Cruising and Chartering in Asia’.  Some of the points raised highlighted existing marina projects in Asia and the impact of superyachts to local economies.

Key takeaways were that yachting professionals were supportive of an Asian-Pacific yachting boom if regulations were more cohesive across the region.  There were discussions from Indonesian, Thai and Australian representatives that changes were proposed at governmental level to back improved superyacht charter regulations and tax.

Crucially, there was also the distinction that diversity is key as Asia is multifaceted and therefore the opportunities to engage with the Asian client is immense.  This was a great consideration alongside the added challenges of yacht infrastructure and support such as refit and repair facilities.

Interestingly, there were also hushed conversations among attendees that some of the media present were there ‘simply for show’ and one delegate who wanted to remain anonymous told us, “(Name withheld) is very good at talking to everyone at industry conferences and promising media support, but the reality is that they have no real grasp of what is happening in Asia as their focus has always been dominantly promoting other global yachting regions such as Mediterranean and Caribbean.”   Our hope is that Superyachts China can fill this media gap and always provide current information on the yachting industry in China and Southeast Asia, with unbiased and accurate news.

Superyachts China was pleased to see a broad representation of delegates at APSC including Andy Treadwell (CEO of Singapore Yacht Show), Martin Redmayne (The Superyacht Group), Nigel Beatty (Chairman of the Asia Pacific Superyacht Association), Peter Mahony (Benetti), Rock Wang and Jean-Marc Poulett (Burgess), Luigi Adamo (Sanlorenzo), Okto Irianto (Director of Maritime Services, Indonesia), Mark Ray (Marinetek SE Asia), Carmen Lau Stratton (Camper & Nicholsons Asia), Dang Bao Hieu (Ana Marina, Nha Trang), Barry Jenkins (Superyacht Australia) and Y.H Fang (Singapore Yachting).

Interesting insights from delegates highlighted the growth of expedition yacht charters to the Asia-Pacific region, including Papua New Guinea. As Justin Hofman of EYOS Expeditions stated, “You can cruise parts of Asia where there are so many islands and so few boats. Adventurous clients are coming to Asia to see what’s here before it disappears. The cultural footprint from superyachts (unlike cruise ships) is lower, they are highly environmentally aware and the yacht toys such as submersibles are often deployed for scientific or exploration research.”

Li Ning, Secretary General for the Hainan Cruise and Yacht Association, shared that they have been given approval by the central Chinese government to establish a yachting blueprint for China, with designation to Hainan as a ‘special development zone’ to test strategies for marine tourism, sport and ancillary services for nautical recreation.

We hope that the Asia Pacific Superyacht Conference continues as a platform for discussion within the industry and it’s important to have global representation to add to the forums and provide insight.