With 135 super yachts worth 3 billion Euros on display the 2018 Monaco Yacht Show did not disappoint, and provided a perfect platform for the Super Yacht Group Great Barrier Reef mission to entice this lucrative industry down under.
The Great Barrier Reef region was well represented at the Superyacht Australia stand with SYGGBR Manager, ex-professional crew member, Joanne Drake in attendance with David Good, CEO of Superyacht Australia, fielding constant inquiries about superyacht cruising in our region.
Targeting the world cruising superyachts, their owners, captains, charter brokers and managers, the Aussie team passed on vital details about the health of the Great Barrier Reef and the preservation efforts and high-tech research being undertaken. The message was also about perspective: the whole Reef is the size of Italy, has the ability to rejuvenate in some affected areas and offers amazing, mind-blowing experiences. Itineraries available detailed the many exceptional and varied cultural and land experiences available to suit the Ultra High Net Worth Individuals travelling on board the superyachts from Lizard Island to the Whitsundays and even further afield to the Kimberley’s.
Simple, yet comprehensive information packs were distributed to yacht owners, yacht captains, yacht agents and superyacht agents passing on all the necessary information for a trip to the region.
PNG has become a popular nearby destination for charter, where vessels base themselves in Cairns as a safe and secure hub to home port in-between trips for maintenance, provisioning and crew rest and relaxation. It is hoped that before too long Federal Government will make amendments to legislation to allow international superyachts to charter in Australian waters as they do in Fiji and New Zealand, opening up an additional 11,800 jobs and $1.64B for our economy by 2021.
“What becomes clear when we are working internationally is the value of collaboration, and this is where our connection with our neighbours in Indonesia, PNG, Fiji, Tahiti, Vanuatu, etc, is an important advantage,” Ms Drake said. “As a group we can encourage vessels to take the long voyage to the whole South Pacific.”
Serious inquiries at the show came from owners, captains, crew, charter agents and media, even a new build inquiry.
“With major events on the horizon in our part of the world, there is much working to our advantage in support of superyachts venturing our way,” Ms Drake said. “We have the SailGP in Sydney – February next year which has recently been announced. It’s a brand new global grand prix sailing series backed by Larry Ellison, the founder of the Oracle Team (USA). Then there’s the Japan Rugby World Cup in 2019, the Olympics in Japan in 2020 and the America’s Cup in New Zealand in 2021.”
“We need all hands on deck to ensure we plant the seeds for superyacht owners to to come and explore our natural wonders.”
Superyacht Australia hosted a live AFL Grand Final Champagne Breakfast on the last morning of the show for the early rising Australian contingency and the Aussie crew at the shows, which was a fun way to finish!
SYGGBR will be attending the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in early November to continue to promote this growing industry.
FOR MEDIA INFORMATION:
Joanne Drake
Manager
Super Yacht Group Great Barrier Reef
Ph: +61 458 794 001
Email: jdrake@superyachtgroup.com
Carrie Carter
Chairman
Super Yacht Group Great Barrier Reef
Ph: +61 429 391 046
Email: info@superyachtgroup.com
The Super Yacht Group Great Barrier is a non-profit, membership based consortium proactive internationally in promoting the GBR region as the perfect home port for superyachts. It attends major boat shows around the world, such as The Monaco Yacht Show, Ft Lauderdale Boat Show, The Singapore Yacht Show and Rendezvous in Tahiti and Fiji. With the assistance of the Cairns Regional Council and Ports North the group also hosts numerous inbound familiarisation tours.
Image 1: Chrissie McClatchie – Journalist, Joanne Drake Manager SYGGBR
Image 2: Joanne Drake Manager SYGGBR, Fang – Singapore Yacht Services, Christiana Cairns – AYSS
Image 3: David Good, CEO Superyacht Australia, Joanne Drake Manager SYGGBR, Nicolas Fry – Northrop & Johnson
Image 4: David Good, CEO Superyacht Australia, Andy Shorten, Lighthouse Consultancy, Joanne Drake Manager SYGGBR, Manoa Ray Tahiti Tourisme
Image 5: Mark Whiteman – Integrated Marine Group, Debra Radtke- American Yacht Agents, Joanne Drake Manager SYGGBR
