MYBA: The Draw of the 2016 Porto Montenegro Pop-Up

The format of the MYBA Pop Up Show in Porto Montenegro is geared toward providing brokers with an informal platform in which to enhance their knowledge of the world’s most up and coming cruising ground and the yachts that are cruising there.

Here’s a look at the main reasons brokers from across the world are preparing to return to Porto Montenegro on September 2nd.

The Show
“The show last year was very successful,” comments Fiona Maureso. “It was modest, but we had a good turnout. I believe there were around 29 yachts, 30 brokers and 50 agents, but that was the first year [...] Brokers came away very positive and encouraged other people to go to the region, so we’re expecting the show to be bigger this year.”

The previous Pop Up show allowed charter and sales brokers to meet, discuss local regulation, and more importantly, see why the popularity of these cruising grounds is growing rapidly amongst the yachting community.

“It’s a sales and charter show,” explains Maureso. “It’s an opportunity to see a destination [brokers] may not have seen before. We’re keeping the same format. It’s a Pop-Up, so its informal, there are no exhibitors, for example. It’s more what shows used to be like, just boats and brokers.“

With the next edition of the MYBA Pop-up Superyacht Show less than two months away, the list of registered participants already includes industry heavyweights such as Fraser, Burgess, Ocean Independence, Northrop & Johnson, Camper & Nicholson, Y.CO, IYC and Blue Water.

The Marina
“The marina is amazing,” said Maureso. “It’s a bit like Porto Cervo, in the sense that it’s purpose built, has really good facilities and a luxury village feel. They’ve just completed their long pier, they’ve got a yacht club, restaurants and bars, high end shopping, a five star hotel and residential properties available to purchase or rent.“

In only ten years, Porto Montenegro has firmly established itself as a prime destination for the yachting community, and was awarded the Superyacht Marina of the Year in 2015; with a new TYHA nomination for 2016.

“No one has given us the opportunity to explore Montenegro and Croatia before,” adds Maureso. “Montenegro is increasingly popular with clients and owners, partly because Montenegro offers favourable tax conditions for yachts and fuel is duty free. The rest of Europe is becoming fiscally burdensome, and Montenegro is outside the EU so there are a lot of benefits.”

The Location
“We have the duty free fuel, which is around 45% cheaper than Croatia, Italy, Greece or France,” adds Billy Cañellas, PMYC General Manager. “There are also no taxes on charters, that’s a big thing when it comes down to superyachts. We are out of the EU, geolocated in Europe but out of the EU, and the cruising grounds themselves, like our UNESCO protected Fjords, are amazing.”

“On the last day of the Pop-Up last year, brokers were taken out into the Bay of Kotor to do some sightseeing,” adds Maureso. “The highlight for most people was to see Boka Bay and to go ashore, see the islands and understand what it is that the clients are going to see.”

“It was the brokers that demanded this,” concludes Canellas. “There’s a lot of superyacht chartering in this area and a lot of the big CAs have a lot of business here. It makes a lot of sense to have an opportunity to showcase the yachts where they’re going to operate.”

Click here to register for the Porto Montenegro Pop Up Show.