All set for 6th Thailand Yacht Show 2022 as Verventia agrees major partnership with AXA Insurance

Photo shows from left:

-       Mr. Songwut Apirakkhit, Executive Director of Investment Management Department, Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC)

-       Benoit Thebaut, GM of Verventia Co., Ltd.

-       Mr. Andy Treadwell, CEO of Verventia Co., Ltd.

-       Mr. Claude Signe, CEO of AXA Thailand General Insurance

-       Mr. Vincent Belin, Business, International Business Development Director, Inter-Media Consultant Co., Ltd. (Bangkok Motor Expo)

Yacht Show organisers Verventia Co., Ltd. announced today that the 6th edition of the government-initiated Thailand Yacht Show 2022 will take place in two stages: firstly, at Pattaya’s Ocean Marina, the largest full-service marina in Asia, from June 9-12, 2022, and the second in Phuket at the end of this year. There is no admission fee, and visitors can pre-register via  https://thailandyachtshow.com/registration/

Just 90 minutes from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport, and two hours’ drive from downtown Bangkok, Ocean Marina and the weekend destinations along the “Eastern Economic Corridor” are the go-to places for the increasing number of wealthy Thais looking to explore the world of yachting.

“The domestic Thai boating market is poised for tremendous growth at all levels – from superyacht charter to day trips to sailing lessons; we have listened to our long-term repeat exhibitors and partners, all of whom are excited at this opportunity to address the Thailand market on its doorstep,” said Mr. Andy Treadwell, CEO of Verventia, adding that the potential direct and indirect impact of yachting tourism on the Gulf of Thailand’s tourism-related economy is massive.

“As a result of all the restrictions during the pandemic, for the past two years we have had to skip our longstanding Yacht Shows in Thailand and Singapore - both much-anticipated calendar fixtures for yachting enthusiasts and businesses. So we are really looking forward to this year’s Thailand show coming back to life finally, and are honored to have such a prestigious organization as AXA Thailand General Insurance become our main Strategic Partner – I believe we will be working together for our mutual benefit for many years to come.  Of course, I would also like to convey our grateful thanks to our other supporters including the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Thailand Conference & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Ocean Marina Yacht Club, The Renaissance Pattaya Resort & Spa, Inter Media Consultant Co., Ltd. (Bangkok Motor Expo) along with our Media Partners as without their support, we would not have been able to hold this year’s Show”, said Mr. Treadwell.

Mr. Claude Seigne, CEO of AXA Thailand General Insurance, commented, “We are delighted to partner with Verventia as the Official Insurer of the Thailand Yacht Show 2022.  Being part of this prestigious event is naturally a source of pride for all of us at AXA Thailand. The TYS is the perfect platform to promote our insurance products and to expand our business network among visitors and yachting industry professionals. By this partnership, we expect to bring more visibility on the full suite of our insurance products that extend to private art, yachts, villas and luxury lifestyle.  It gives us also the possibility to reinforce our commitment to be a partner to our customers as well as the brand image of quality associated to our insurance products and services.”

Verventia has been instrumental in developing the yachting industry in Asia, and especially in Thailand, as Treadwell and his team believe that the country is a unique destination for the global superyacht owners to visit the whole year round - especially during the European winter months when it is too cold to stay in the Mediterranean. As a result of the company’s perseverance during the past six years the Minister of Finance finally approved, in February

last year, changes to regulations pertaining to superyacht chartering licenses that now allow superyachts – nearly all of which are foreign-flagged - to charter legally in Thailand.

Instead of being required to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) on the yacht’s value, superyachts will now pay tax only on their charter earnings. The very first charter license under the new regulations has been issued to Verventia on behalf of a foreign-flagged superyacht that will spend the whole of next winter in Thailand. It is envisaged that tens of thousands of ultra-high-spending superyacht tourists from the USA, Europe and the Middle East are looking for a new destination for their winter cruising holiday as an alternative to the Caribbean. They have not been able to come to Thailand, or anywhere else in Asia, until now, because of the de-facto prohibition on chartering – essential to owners as a means of defraying some of the huge costs of superyacht upkeep.

Verventia has also been working with the Saudi Arabia government for the past nine months, helping them with their own project to bring yacht tourism to their fast-developing Red Sea cruising grounds – a highly strategic consultancy, since most yachts making the journey East to Asia for the winter would come down the Red Sea. The new Jeddah Yacht Club & Marina, a key part of the project, is a perfect stopover en route as well a first-class destination in its own right. The renewed ‘entente cordiale’ between Saudi Arabia and Thailand - cemented at last week’s Amazing Thailand Roadshow to Saudi Arabia and the concurrent Saudi-Thai Investment Forum - who are both hungry to attract the ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) that make up the superyacht owning and chartering community, brings with it the opportunity for bilateral tourism promotion of ‘The Spice Route’ (Mediterranean - Red Sea - Indian Ocean - Andaman Sea - Gulf of Thailand).

Thailand historically welcomes less than 1% of the global superyacht fleet every year, but is now in a position to tackle this luxury travel segment, which has emerged post-pandemic as the travel industry’s fastest growing sector.

“Future global superyacht market growth is going to come from Asia – and especially from the north-east Asia countries neighbouring Pattaya and the Gulf of Thailand. An imaginative marketing campaign, with the right financial backing, can turn that 1% around, with the potential to attract over 200 superyachts by 2026, injecting at least US$1 million per yacht (in

overheads, charter tax revenue and associated local costs) per year directly into the local economy. And that is just the beginning. If yachts can be persuaded to stay for the whole

season, each one will spend on average US$ 5 million – not counting the spending of their charter guests, who themselves are of necessity some of the wealthiest people in the world,” revealed Mr. Treadwell.

The superyacht (vessels over 30 metres) fleet currently comprises approximately 5,600 yachts, with larger 70 - 90 metre yachts enjoying the highest growth rates as the world’s rich get richer. The global yacht charter market was valued at US$10.91 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.6 percent from 2020 to 2028.