Simply Abu Dhabi XXXV

Why do you think yachting hasn’t caught on in Asia before now? When we have Asian guests on board who are discovering yachting for the first time, they always love the experience. But yachting is not part of the historical culture. It’s therefore integral that we give Asian clients more exposure to it. The only way to do that is to get people on board a yacht to experience it for themselves. The challenge is not about educating a massive population in Asia, it is simply getting individuals to experience being on board, and that takes time. How far along that process are you? So far, it has been the hard slog of meeting people, convincing them to do it again, and then waiting for the enthusiasm to spread via word of mouth. Charter requests undoubtedly come from personal recommendations, and it can catch fire very quickly. For me, Phuket is the epicentre of the solution, because the cruising grounds are fabulous. Anantara is the Riviera, behind is Phang Nga Bay, which is a national park with beautiful rock formations, and the south, which is Koh Phi Phi, Krabi and Langkawi. The cruising ground anchored by the Anantara resorts and Layan Residences by Anantara stretches 100 miles from the top of Phuket down to Langkawi. It’s not huge, but it’s incredibly rich and diverse in terms of the things that can be done and experienced. It’s already clear that culturally Phuket is accepted by Asian visitors as a place that is totally ‘Asian’, and by that, I mean authentic Thai food, fresh produce from the sea, close proximity to the mainland, rich in Asian culture, and they can fly from anywhere via private jet easily. Mainland Chinese don’t have visa requirements in Phuket, so that makes life very easy for them, too. The big thing is how to make this location the charter epicentre of Asia, so that we make it easy for them. Create an itinerary that allows them to hop over for three days, stay in a hotel, residence or yacht, and discover more of the area. What changes do you think need to happen with regards to regulations? A big change that needs to happen is to do with charter. There is a still an antiquated charter regulation against foreign flags, which requires yachts to leave Thai waters at the end of the charter and tends to push the charter length up to a week. Once the regulations get sorted out, they can look at changing the charter model. The government is keen to update it, but another part of the equation is tax related, which is the sticking point at present. Maritime laws prevent a foreign flag yacht to perform a commercial activity in Thailand – it’s the same in many countries, such as Greece, but the big obstacle at present is from a tax point of view, any yacht that carries commercial activity in Thailand needs to pay VAT on the yacht – that is what is being discussed now. What about the role of infrastructure? There are only around five commercial yachts available for charter in Thailand at present, and that is 80% of the entire commercial fleet. So, the area can certainly accommodate more yachts than it currently has. More marinas are not needed. That will happen naturally when the demand comes. More marinas will not bring more people. The bays are protected from a regulation point of view, and all the yachts prefer to be at anchor. More jetties would make life more comfortable, but that is a low-cost investment. An end-to-end luxury experience is central to yacht charters, and shoreside businesses already offer world-class hotels, restaurants, golf courses, private residences, all with plenty of diversity. The first Michelin star restaurant is on the horizon with the opening of a new ‘foraging’ restaurant, and the new Avadina Hills by Anantara development has already commenced work. Great boutiques, beach clubs, an unrivalled service industry – the full experience is already available, far more so than in the Caribbean. Phuket is already a super high-end destination, but the Western charter market has not developed yet. Thailand in the summer months is unpredictable due to monsoon season, and the optimum winter months coincide with ski season. The hope is to convert and capture charter guests who typically travel to the Caribbean. They won’t be US clients, as it’s too far away for most, but more likely Europeans, Australians and the expat crowds in Hong Kong and Singapore. What plans doBurgess have for increasing exposure to individual Asian clients? At present we’re working with likeminded brands – affiliate partnerships – and that also furthers the end-to-end luxury experience. It’s about sharing contacts and client leads to get exposure. We are working at spending time with the Asian senior officers of these brands to give them the opportunity to learn about us and to spread awareness about yachting – that is our main focus. In the grand scheme of things Burgess remains a small company. We have 200 employees globally, but in Asia only 10. We’re limited in what we can do, and with the size and diversity of the market it’s impossible to do it alone. So, we have decided to spend a lot of time with likeminded brands who can talk about new ideas with their clients. In Asia, social media is hugely advanced. It’s word of mouth – a contact on WeChat or WhatsApp or LinkedIn – these are huge inroads and tools of communication. The yacht needs to be the tool to reach what you’re passionate about, but it should be the experience itself that is at the forefront, rather than the vessel. Things will happen at their own pace. It may take some time, but it will happen.