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Royal Phuket Marina and Simpson Marine Committed To Yachting Growth
Royal Phuket Marina and Simpson Marine, two of the most prominent players within Asia’s yachting industry, have pledged their commitment to further growing the yachting sector in Thailand’s, focussing on the popular tourism island of Phuket, dubbed the “Asian Riviera”.
World-class cruising grounds, a well-developed marine infrastructure and international-standard marinas make Thailand the beating heart of Asia's marine industry and Phuket the playground for yachting aficionados the world over.
Speaking at the 2016 Phuket International Boat Show, which came to a close yesterday, Simpson Marine, a leading yacht dealership, brokerage and service company, and Royal Phuket Marina, an award-winning marina, offered more details about their expansion plans for the island.
“Phuket has now become the Asian Riviera,” says Gulu Lalvani, Chairman of Royal Phuket Marina. “My vision for Phuket remains unchanged: to help develop the best yachting and marine infrastructure, and encourage quality visitors to come and enjoy the beauty of the island.
“I can see demographics of yacht buyers and charter guests is changing with more Asians enjoying the yachting lifestyle, and as most marinas are already full we are expanding our facilities at Royal Phuket Marina to accommodate more yachts."
He continued: “We see more yacht owners choosing Phuket as their base and we will be opening a new Dry Stack at the marina which can accommodate boats up to 12 metres in length. Owners can call to our marina team and within one hour we will have their boat out of the stack and in the water ready for them to go and enjoy Phuket's marine treasures."
The Dry Stack will increase capacity at Royal Phuket Marina from 170 to 296 boats and will be finished and operating by the end of February 2016.
With more than 100 staff in 17 offices across Asia, Simpson Marine has been providing yacht services in the region since 1984 and in Thailand since 2004.
“From our experience we see that more people are buying yachts in Thailand because of the beauty of the Andaman Sea and its surrounding waters,” added Sergio Loiacono, Country Sales Manager of Simpson Marine Thailand.
“Coupled with the world-class marine facilities in Phuket, many of our clients opt to keep their boats here.”
The 2016 Phuket International Boat Show ran from 7 – 10 January.