Dubai event gets go-ahead.
Held under the patronage of Dubai-based P&O Marinas and initiated and co-organised by Fabulous Yachts, the International Superyacht Summit is now in its third edition and is scheduled to take place from March 11-12 this year.
IBI spoke with the co-organiser of the event, Tony Crabbe of Fabulous Yachts, who confirmed that despite the cancellation and postponement of almost all boat shows in Asia due to the Coronavirus, the Dubai event is still scheduled to take place. “With one month to go we have no plans to cancel or postpone the event. Roughly 45% of our delegates are locally based with 55% from overseas with Europe and USA the majority and only 3% from Asia. We are monitoring the situation and will work with the government recommendations here in the UAE.”
The current information on the coronavirus for the UAE is there are currently seven cases that have been diagnosed in the country, one of which has been confirmed as a complete recovery. Dubai appears to be able to handle the issue well. According to a report in the Gulf News, the leading UAE English language newspaper, a recent study by Germany’s Humboldt University and Robert Koch Institute to identify the relative import risk showed a relatively low level for Dubai.
The study computed a list of countries at risk of importing the virus after analysing air traffic patterns connecting 4,000 airports worldwide. With over 25,000 direct connections between them, Dubai came low on the list in the 19th spot among a total of 30 countries at risk of importing the virus. The Gulf News report went on to say: “Owing to the popularity and high connectivity of UAE’s airports, which was used for the study, it is understandable why the UAE featured on the top 20 list but the country’s ‘relative import risk’ at 0.177% is low compared to rest of the countries featuring in the top tier.”
Crabbe discussed with IBI more details on the summit. “The event is going to take place at the Bvlgari Marina conference room in Dubai near downtown Dubai with Martin Redmayne from the Superyacht Group as event moderator. The focus of The International Superyacht Summit has, up to now, been the development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a preferred winter destination for superyachts on the migratory trail. This year we look further afield and encourage the industry to take a collaborative approach throughout the region. The 2020 edition of The International Superyacht Summit will introduce two new themes; the first new theme is how superyacht marina developments empower lifestyle and tourism and the role of the upscale yachting industry in new and consolidated tourist destinations.
“The second new theme is the emerging trends in superyacht ownership and how builders can accommodate the needs of an ever-younger generation of owners and charterers. Central to this trend is also the growing environmental awareness of these younger generations and the higher intolerance of unsustainable practices.”
IBI also obtained a short statement from the Dubai World Trade Centre that confirmed the Dubai International Boat Show is also still scheduled to take place from March 10-14, concurrently with the International Superyacht Summit dates.
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