Ocean Alliance wins recognition award at ASMEX Conference

2 June 2017


Ocean Alliance wins recognition award at the 7th ASMEX Superyacht Conference | 22-24 May 2017

Gold Coast, Australia.

by Ocean Alliance.


Around 260 international and local industry professionals gathered in Sanctuary Cove last week for the 7th Australian Superyacht, Marine Export & Commercial Marine Industry (ASMEX) conference. The event spread a renewed energy in the Australian marine industry crystallised into 14 points by conference chair, Martin Redmayne.

The conference’s 2017 theme was

“Staying relevant in today’s global business environment”.

Amongst the notable guest speakers were Kiran Haslam of Princess Yachts; Farouk Nefzi from Feadship; Joshua Lee, founder and managing director of Lee Marine in Thailand;  Jac Phillips on marketing from a different perspective, from VISA; Ashley Page of AEC Group presenting the Economic Impact Study. We were delighted to welcome delegates from Tourism Australia, and representatives of the Government as attendees during the two-day event.

Conference chair and managing director of The Superyacht Group, Martin Redmayne, opened the event as it delved into issues facing the Australian industry. These were described as a lack of understanding and support from government authorities at all ends of the boating and yachting spectrum.

On Tuesday night, the anticipated Awards Gala Dinner shone the spotlight on the Australian Industry’s “Champions”. Ocean Alliance’s Managing Director, Jo Howard, was proud to receive the Superyacht Australia Recognition Award for “outstanding contribution and commitment to driving outcomes for the superyacht industry”.

The conference was dominated by the presentation of the recent economic impact studywhich clearly demonstrated yachting’s impact on the Australian economy at nearly AUD$2 billion impact and could be a great deal more with appropriate regulation by government of foreign yachts chartering.  However, the concepts of collaboration and shared vision were evident as well.

“The ASMEX Conference has been a great line up of speakers – the best yet. There is also a good representation from government which is pleasing to see they have taken the time to come and listen. One of the key issues for delegates at the conference was to drive home the barrier they continue to face with the fact foreign flagged vessels cannot charter in Australia.

“There is strong unity in the industry moving forward to get the new regulations implemented,” stated Carl Amor, Director of Aqualuma.

Recently promoting Australia to the international stage, as a winner of the Voyager Award at the 2017 World Superyacht Awards, Captain Carl Brandes from the Trinity superyacht GLAZE provided the audience with a humble description of his journey through the Kimberley – and how he created this unforgettable experience for his Owners.

Set as the Oscars of the Superyacht industry, a recognition at the World Superyacht Awards shines the light on Australia’s diverse offerings for domestic and international superyachts, and on the experiences charter guests can access through knowledgeable experts such as Ocean Alliance.

 

It was the most attended conference to date with a significant number of captains attending and speaking.

The captains’ panel perfectly exemplified the superior destinations Australia can offer to guests onboard a yacht as well as the faith captains and crew have in the services and infrastructure to refit and maintain yachts – some saying they received better service in Australian yards than those in the Mediterranean.  Mr Redmayne informed the room that there are only 195 berths in the Mediterranean capable of accommodating a yacht 60metres+ yet an order book far exceeding that.  The yachts must go somewhere so why not Australia for superlative cruising and trades.

Still with solidarity in mind, the room committed to form a group of professionals from Fiji, Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia to devise a strategic plan for collaborative marketing of the region and work with partners to increase the traffic to all destinations in the South Pacific.

Sevenstar Yacht Transport as a service provider to the region was very supportive.  “This is the best edition of this conference I have attended.  The economic impact study was fascinating and helpful to our business. I hope the impact of the study and resolutions of the conference results in the changes to Australian charter regulations. This would see an increase in our services to Australia,” said Peter Staalsmid from Sevenstar.

Delegates heard from speakers from the UAE, USA, UK, Holland, New Zealand, Tahiti and Canada plus professionals in insurance, foreign exchange and Australian survey requirements.  The final speaker was Farouk Nefzi from Feadship who led a spellbound audience through a presentation on the state of the global yachting industry and the future.  “It has been four years since I attended ASMEX and I am pleasantly surprised to see the growth in attendance and maturity of the topics discussed. In many ways, Australia is very well positioned to capture the growth in the charter, refit and maintenance markets however, it is obvious the current regime regulating international yachts and their ability to charter is limiting not only the potential but the promotion of the destination”.

 “Feadship would happily promote itineraries and destinations in Australia to our clients if we were confident that the regulatory environment was clear, user-friendly and lived up to the promise the destination could provide”.

Mr Redmayne closed the two-day conference with 14 succinct points which covered collaborative marketing, lobbying strategies, ambassador and education programmes, key selling points for Australia as a destination and a win by the Kiwis in Bermuda.

Media and PR enquiries: info@oceanalliance.com.au to find out more.

Follow Ocean Alliance on Instagram for daily news and updates (@ocean_alliance).

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