I spoke to Andy Treadwell well CEO of Singapore Yacht Show about the most important yacht and lifestyle fair in Asia. With almost 100 yachts and many glamorous parties, seminars etc., the event in Asia is also an important network instrument when it comes to luxury in Asia.
Kevin Underwood
Why is Singapore a good venue for a yacht show?
Andy Treadwell
After the financial crisis, and the immediate decline in „yachting consumption“ in the West, it became a major focus to establish a proper international yacht show in Asia that marketed both the yachting industry and the nautical lifestyle. The whole of the global industry was – and still is – looking to Asia for future growth and development. There is big potential in this region because of the amount of wealth being generated here by a relatively young generation of entrepreneurs, and the increasing appeal of yachting as a new leisure lifestyle industry to this more outward-going – as compared to their forefathers – community.
At the same time, in order to grow the yachting industry in the region, we knew we would have to get government interest and support. And the best way to do that was to focus initially on getting the superyachts from the Mediterranean coming to the destination part of the region – ASEAN. These big boats bring in the kind of economic impact and high-end, high-spending tourism that all governments want. So the ASEAN cruising region – from Myanmar and Thailand all the way down through Malaysia and the Indonesian archipelago to the Pacific – is where we need to focus, and Singapore is the capital city of Southeast Asia, right in the middle of all these fabulous cruising grounds.
Singapore is the perfect venue for the region’s main yacht show – it is a first-world financial and business h doub that’s transparent, with very reasonable tax, and it’s the epicenter of the ASEAN region as superyacht cruising destination. It also has the best infrastructure for a yacht show, and geographically speaking, is one of the most accessible parts of Asia for yachts when they sail down from the Mediterranean.
However, currently unfriendly legislation doesn’t allow foreign superyachts to come here. We are spending a lot of time trying to help change this, starting with Thailand, with whose highly proactive and positive government we have been working very closely over the past three years. We think we will see the result of all this very soon – they are willing and ready to change their regulations and allow foreign yacht charter. The next step will be to get the whole of the ASEAN region working together. Once we get a real charter industry happening here, then all the potential new buyers in China and elsewhere will come out of the woodwork – because we’ll have somewhere on their own back doorstep to show them the product, let them try it out.
Kevin Underwood
Do you see a difference between the requirements of the various markets e.g. Asian, European, Americans or middle Eastern?
Andy Treadwell
In terms of what product is suitable? Not really, although obviously there’s a big difference in cultures and climates – the Mediterranean, where there’s 150 years of history of yachting, is a very different place to the Middle East or Asia – and there is less propensity to go out in the hot and sticky midday sun here, so boating is less popular generally, and you need more shelter and aircon. Some brands can adapt their product to meet the market’s demands, customizing the boats to fit the customer’s requirements in Asia. There’s probably less interest in overnight cruising and more interest in having leisure rooms instead of cabins, so changing the cabins into entertainment rooms for karaoke, games or dining, is another .
In terms of what’s needed to develop the industry in Asia, and to a lesser extent in the Middle East, it’s just about understanding that we’re almost starting from scratch here.
There really is no industry – very, very little, so we have to create the interest and introduce the lifestyle. Interest in all the sectors of the industry is growing in this region, but I believe the most important thing right now, for the top end of the market anyway, is yacht charter. No matter how wealthy people are, they are not going to go out and buy a big boat first-off without having sampled the lifestyle. If we can get foreign superyachts being allowed to charter in Thailand, then we immediately have a product for Asian buyers to try out, right in their own backyard. Generally speaking, it’s going to be a lot easier to get them to come to Thailand, say – the most popular tourism destination for Chinese holidaymakers – than it would be to get them to go to the Caribbean, or even the Med, to try it out for the first time.
Kevin Underwood
What is your targeted profile of visitors for the Singapore Yacht Show?
Andy Treadwell
Aside from yacht buyers and boating enthusiasts, we want to attract a wide demographic of people who love having fun, like lifestyle, and are perhaps seeking something new to enjoy – because yachting and boating, having fun on the water, is really for everyone, and accessible to all.
Kevin Underwood
How long do you need to plan the Singapore yacht show?
Andy Treadwell
Like any major international event, it takes a whole year. There are a lot of moving parts, and every year we need to expand and improve. Most importantly, we are constantly seeking sponsorship and more financial support – without this, the show can’t happen, the industry will never develop, and regional governments will not get the economic impact they could so easily get if only we had more resource and ability to go to market in places like China.
Kevin Underwood
What is your personal preference in yachts? Motor or sailing?
Andy Treadwell
Sailing is wonderful, and I’ve been lucky enough to do a fair bit on some very big boats in the Mediterranean when I was a bit younger. However, to be practical, these days I would have to side with 90% of the boating population and say that motor boating is much easier, quicker and more practical. They are two very different things, different sports, different lifestyles, and attract two very different types of people – although I’m one of those who loves both.
Kevin Underwood
What to you hope to achieve with the Singapore Yacht Show?
Andy Treadwell
On the one hand we are providing a marketing platform for the global yachting industry, and our primary goal is to promote the yachting lifestyle to new buyers. There are hardly any boats in the region as a whole, and everybody sees a huge untapped potential in Asia as a
new market. We are also a lobbying platform – we’re trying to persuade governments in the region to make changes to the taxation laws that are preventing the yachting industry from flourishing, a move that will bring about plenty of economic benefits when it surely comes. And at the same time, we are marketing ASEAN as a yachting destination to all the existing yacht owners in the West who have never been here – but would love to, if only the regulations were relaxed and the place made more welcoming to foreign yachts.