Verventia and Asia RendezVous join forces new yacht shows in Southeast Asia

Five of Southeast Asia’s major yachting events are to be consolidated into just two shows following a new agreement by Verventia Pte Ltd. and Asia RendezVous Pte Ltd. The two companies, which own the Singapore and Thailand Yacht Shows and the Phuket, Penang and Singapore RendezVous events respectively, will jointly produce one show in Thailand and one in Singapore.

In a new joint statement from Verventia CEO Andy Treadwell and Gael and Olivier Burlot, the owners of Asia RendezVous, the companies have confirmed plans to collaborate on a pair of shows. The news arrives following a request earlier in 2018 from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to bring together the industry for one major event and support the government’s yacht tourism initiatives.

As part of these initiatives, which arrive after a three-year campaign helmed by the Thailand Yacht Show, the Thai government has lifted some restrictions on the yachting industry and changed a number of regulations affecting foreign vessels. Overseas yachts will now be able to charter in Thai waters, and the ASEAN cruising grounds are effectively open to foreign superyachts for the first time.

The Thai Marina Business Association (TMBA) is also currently working with the government’s finance and transport departments to devise a business model for collecting VAT on charter income as opposed to on the value of the yachts themselves.

The new collaborative shows from Verventia and Asia RendezVous come after numerous requests from the local and international yachting industries for locations to have just the one show in each strategic location – the “destination hub” of Thailand and the “business hub” of Singapore. Now joining forces, the two thriving companies will be able to pool resources and draw on two sets of strengths for ambitious events which look to attract many more potential buyers and charter customers.

The Phuket-based venture will now be known as the Thailand Yacht Show & RendezVous, while the newly launched Singapore Yacht Show RendezVous will be running alongside the Singapore Yacht Show.

Verventia’s Andy Treadwell explained, “It’s a classic example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, from every point of view. The TAT, our partners and main sponsor of the Thailand Yacht Show, asked us to try to get everyone working together instead of competing and dividing the industry. The major industry players asked us to do exactly the same thing. Gael and Olivier have a great work ethic, an excellent region-wide digital and print media platform, and a direct line to the luxury lifestyle industries – which is a good complement to any kind of yacht show.” 

Gael Burlot added, “We feel it’s a good time and a good place to get everyone working together – the luxury industries are coming out of a challenging period, and things are looking better and better, while the yachting industry should now be in a position to dramatically expand in the Asia-Pacific region. All our efforts over the last 15 years to promote the industry and educate a growing audience of prospects in Asia are paying off; so is the hard work Andy and his team have been doing with the regional governments to open up Asia to yacht tourism - an initiative we want to support and fully be part of. Exciting times ahead!” 

The Thailand Yacht Show & Rendezvous will take place from 4^th to 7th January 2019, with the venue to be confirmed in the near future. The Singapore Yacht Show Rendezvous will replace the current Luxury Pavilion at SYS 2019 and will run from 11^th to 14^th April.