10 AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2019 | International Boat Industry ibinews.com
HEADLINES International Marine News
AUSTRALIA With new boat
registrations averaging
14,000 per year, the marine
industry in Australia is still
an A$8.65bn industry led by
sales, yard services, and charter
operations. But the numbers
are a bit misleading, according
to Domenic Genua, general
manager for marketing and
events at Australia’s Boating
Industry Association (BIA).in the Southern Hemisphere,
the Sydney International Boat
Show (SIBS) – which ran from
August 1-5 – leads the way in
showcasing the Australian
boating culture to the world
and jump-starting the industry
each year. “Post GFC [Global
Financial Crisis] in 2009, we
took a substantial hit to our
industry, which reduced in
size by about 40%,” Genua told
IBI. “However, at our peak,
during [SIBS] our industry
would expect to turn over A$5m
per hour, A$250m during the
course of the show, and another
A$200m in August follow-up
sales activity.”
The boating mix is as diverse
as the country itself, Genua
said, with a trend moving
toward multi-use boats that can
combine fishing and family fun.
“If you appreciate that
93% of all registered vessels in
Australia in Australia are less
than 8m long, that tells you that
we are a very large trailer boat
market,” he told IBI.
Illustrating the point,
personal watercraft (PWC) sales
have increased each year for
the past 10 years, while boat
registrations have remained flat.
There are some 76,000 PWCs
registered in Australia.
The marine industryin Australia employs
approximately 28,000 people,
with most – about 75% –
working in small businesses
employing five people or less.
According to Genua, the
industry is showing evidence
of small growth, but is taking
new forms like boat sharing
and charter services. “The
Australian market place is a
sleeping giant,” he said, “and
what we have is an opportunity,
moving forward, that we are
going to say to the countries
around the world, ‘watch this
space’. You’ll be surprised at how
we blossom and grow.”
That growth, Genua further
explained, will come with
adapting to the changing
market place.
“As an industry we’re going
to be modern, thinking outside
of the square, and we’re going
to embrace not only modern
technology but modern
thinking about the share
economy, how we create more
effective land-water interface- better boat ramps, better
marinas – so that’s going to be a
really good thing.”
With total attendance at
just over 60,000 people, this
year’s Sydney International
Boat Show (SIBS) was dubbed a
“resounding success”.
Australian boating
market a “sleeping giant”
REST OF THE WORLD
60,000 visitors attended the Sydney show in early AugustWhile Australia has over
900,000 registered boats, boats
that travel under 10kt need not
be registered, and it is estimated
there are 300,000 more of
those. Around 20% of the
population – some five million
Australians – have access to
or participate in boating, with
some two million posessing a
boat licence.
As the largest boat showFerretti Group expands in Vietnam
VIETNAM Italy’s Ferretti Group
has expanded its presence in the
Asian market by announcing a
new dealership agreement with
Vietnam-based Luxury Yacht
Limited (LuxYacht). LuxYacht
will exclusively represent the
Ferretti Yachts, Pershing and
Riva brands.
“The partnership with
LuxYacht is a new and strategic
commercial partnership for our
group, and it is of fundamental
importance for our growthpath in the South-East Asian
market,” says Stefano de Vivo,
CCO of Ferretti Group. “We
have decided to rely on a highly
experienced nautical broker in
a country that is experiencing
record economic growth with
a 7% increase in GDP and a
consequent growing demand
for luxury goods.”
Led by Nguyen Duc Thuan,
president of LuxYacht, the team
includes yachting experts and
engineers, and a sub-dealersnetwork spread throughout
Vietnam. With many years
of experience in maritime
industry, the company has
become a pioneer in the field of
genuine yacht distribution and
watersports products imported
into Vietnam.
“The partnership between
LuxYacht and Ferretti
Yachts, Pershing and Riva
in Vietnam is very exciting
because we know the quality,
craftsmanship and eleganceof the Ferretti yachts,” says
Nguyen. “I’ve been working
with smaller sized yachts from
other brands over the last three
years and seen good results.
We now see that the market is
maturing, with many clients
showing an interest in owning
yachts over 30m. LuxYacht is
committed to supporting the
new boating community in
Vietnam, and helping them to
integrate yachting into their
lifestyle.”