Dubai will have a major leisure boating industry within 5-10 years according to the General Manager of the newly-formed Dubai Marina Yacht Club LLC…
Dubai will have a major leisure boating industry within 5-10 years according to the General Manager of the newly-formed Dubai Marina Yacht Club LLC, a division of Emaar Properties PJSC.
Addressing delegates at Waterfront 2005 Dubai – the conference probing future trends in the Middle East`s coastal development – Joe Goddard said demand for marina berths in the emirate is already high, but the industry is being stifled by a lack of interest from developers.
Developers are slow to put their money into marinas and commercial marine office space because they favour high profit building project and may view the boating industry as too hard, Goddard said.
There is a lack of marina consideration in master planning and a lack of understanding of marina management and marina development, he said.
This is the current situation despite the fact that demand is currently outstripping supply three-fold.
Goddard said to be successful, marina developments in the Middle East needed to encompass a number of factors – marine retail, training, leisure competitions and a social aspect.
Currently, he said, the new Dubai Marina Yacht Club was receiving up to five new enquiries a day for berths and membership. We already have a waiting list, he explained.
All this will change over the coming decade as the local market demand matures and there is an increase in the number of expatriates who have money to spend in a no-tax environment.
The emergence of Dubai as an international tourism destination, the powerful marketing behind the emirate, strong investment and a maturing of interest in boating and marina lifestyles would be key driving factors in the leisure boating industry of the future, he said.
Yet, he said, major international suppliers, currently hampered by the high value of the Euro, would increasingly look for joint ventures to enter the UAE market, which is largely driven by low-cost builders.
Joint ventures are the way ahead and the only way for the Europeans to compete. They will lead to more model types and products being available here and more competition in the market.
However, more needs to be done to get rid of the fly-by-nights, who are entering the market with low-cost and dangerous products.
Goddard said a survey carried out by Dubai Marina Yacht Club showed that local boat builder expect huge sales increases in the next two years with a least a third of their production going for export.
Further development, said Goddard, would come with the setting up of a boating industry association for the region to educate developers.
Goddard told Waterfront 2005 Dubai that Stage Two of the East Marina at Dubai Marina would be tendered within the month. Stage Two will add another 90 berths to the project by the end of this year. Some 130 berths are already available at East Marina and, according to Goddard were filled within a month. Marine retail will be added to the project in 2007.
The new Dubai Marina Yacht Club will have 200 berths by June 2006, exclusive membership and social functions, marine retail and a total marina lifestyle. Work on the club house will start shortly, said Goddard.
And one kilometre from the Yacht Club, there will be the Dubai Marina Boat Repair Facility, due to have a soft launch in July this year with purpose-built shed being ready for February next year.
It will have a range of facilities for the repair and maintenance of recreational vessels, said Goddard. All these are necessary to deliver the true marina experience.
Waterfront 2005 Dubai closes at the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel Dubai tonight (Tuesday, May 10). The conference attracted a powerful speaker line up from three continents and probed key issues pertinent to coastal development in the region.
Many developments in the Middle East are looking to develop super-yacht hubs and the emergence of the leisure marine industry regionally is a key issue in the success of waterfront developments, said Chris Hayman, Managing Director, Seatrade, the international publishers and event organisers behind Waterfront 2005 Dubai.
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