JEDDAH: With numerous waterside developments in the pipeline, the demand for marina-front properties is expected to grow dramatically in the coming years.
The domestic Saudi market is increasingly finding the region’s marine industry appealing as a whole, Franck Dailles, group director of Informa Yacht Group (IYG), organizer of Abu Dhabi Yacht Show 2010, told a press conference here on Sunday night.
“With numerous waterside developments in the pipeline, regional demand for marina-front properties is expected to grow dramatically in the coming years. The hugely untapped leisure marine market is another aspect that is expected to receive a boost from this development activity. With a sizeable coastline, the opportunities within the Kingdom to develop domestic marine destinations is immense,” he said, while giving the details of the 2nd Abu Dhabi Yacht Show (ADYS), the Middle East’s “first and only show exclusively for yachts of over 25 meters long,” which runs at Abu Dhabi’s prestigious Yas Marina from Feb. 25-27.
Visitors from the Kingdom are among the most sought-after by exhibitors and represent one of the largest markets for last year’s “highly successful” ADYS launch edition.
The show presents Saudi yacht lovers with the chance to see the latest the industry has to offer at one location.
“During its inaugural edition last year, ADYS welcomed 30,717 Saudi guests to its expanding hotel portfolio, which made the Kingdom the ninth most productive market for us and this is a market we wish to further penetrate as we move along with our target this year of attracting 1.65 million hotel guests,” said Faisal Al-Sheikh, events manager at Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.
According to Dailles, the 2009 inaugural ADYS event saw vessel sales totaling over $100 million, confirming the growing importance of the Arabian Gulf as a key super and mega yacht market.
He said that keeping with Abu Dhabi’s commitment to sustainable progress, ADYS has made a commitment to assess the carbon footprint of next month’s show with a view to reducing emissions in the current and forthcoming shows, as well as to purchase the credits necessary to offset the expected carbon footprint of the event.
“ADYS fully supports initiatives that will help reduce carbon emissions and promote responsible use of non-renewable energy resources. Our commitment to reduce the carbon footprint of this year’s edition is a contribution to the efforts of the Abu Dhabi government to help create a more sustainable future for the UAE,” Dailles added.
