Luxury Yacht Shows Coming to Asia

First up will be the Hainan Rendezvous, a hugely popular annual luxury lifestyle and yachting event that draws exhibitors from around the world, keen to tap into Asia’s lucrative and ever-growing market of luxury consumers.

Then in mid-April, the Singapore Yacht Show will begin in earnest. Taking place in the exhibition and marina facility located in the ONE°15 Marina Club, the three-day event is expected to attract 70 exhibitors, 20 superyachts and over 3,000 high net worth individuals,

Amongst the attendees in Singapore will be US shipyard Westport Yachts, who will have a full on-land booth display. According to Phil Purcell of Westport, they will be coming to Singapore hoping to "enjoy the wonderful country and build further brand recognition."

Further evidence of the region’s thriving yachting scene can be found in the fact that this year’s Hainan Rendezvous, which takes place at the end of the month, had already sold all of its exhibition space by December 2012.

One of the regular attendees at Hainan Rendezvous in recent years has been world-renowned German shipyard Lürssen. Like the rest of the industry, Lürssen hope to one day boast a large roll-call of Asian clients, but are aware that despite the continent’s economic clout, this ambition could take some time to achieve.

Speaking to Superyachts.com, Sylke auf dem Graben, PR and Marketing Manager at Lürssen, said that their expectations ahead of the show are suitably cautious.

“We’ve attended Chinese boat shows since 2005 – five years in Shanghai and three years at the Hainan Rendezvous. For us it’s more that we want to promote the Lürssen brand,” she said.

“Our actual product comes last because we build the larger boats and so far the Asian market has not shown a big interest in these types of yacht. Yachting is not yet in their nature, and for it to become so may take a few years, or even generations.

“We already know a few people there, so we hope to build new relationships, meet new people and introduce the brand.”

But with the Asian yacht market currently experiencing a phase of intense growth, with yachting becoming a popular pastime in the region’s coastal cities, and China in particular continuing its surge towards becoming the world’s greatest economic power, it is surely only a matter of time before Lürssen and their counterparts achieve their ambition.