RACHEL WILLIAMS

In early January, Phuket hosted its seventh annual boat show PIMEX, at the glamorous Royal Phuket Marina. The much anticipated event was held for the first time during the January holiday period when many of Phuket's regular visitors escape the cold climates of Europe and North America. The previous PIMEX events were held in early December and coincided with the King's Cup Regatta, which attracted the regatta sailors to the show on their lay days.

The boardwalk and marina definitely had a different vibe this year. The crowds appeared to be thinner but the clientèle were more serious. This was welcome news for the yacht dealers that were exhibiting.

Positive Feedback

Marting Holmes, general manager at Lee Marine, proudly exhibited the largest number of yachts at the show, with five boats including the stunning Pershing 80. With a large indoor and outdoor booth at the end of the board walk as well as the on-water display, Lee Marine's commitment to the show is clear: “We have exhibited at PIMEX since it started, this year it has been better than most years. The new January dates attract a better crowd for us, we have met some people that have flown in from around the region just for the show.”said Martin.
 
Moving inside the exhibition hall, the company with the most visible booth was Simpson Marine. Due to conflicting schedules, this is the first time the company have exhibited at PIMEX since the event moved to the Royal Phuket Marina. The company invested in a large central custom built booth, employing numerous sales and hospitality staff to entertain visitors with drinks and short bites. Sergio Loiacono of Simpson Marine was impressed with the venue and explained how the event had been for them: “The show has been quieter than expected, although we hosted a great party on Friday the second day, the booth was full of clients enjoying food and drink. We managed to sign two contracts for new Beneteau sailing boats and a Lagoon catamaran during the show, we will be definitely be back next year.” Simpson Marine are the largest yacht dealer in South East Asia with offices throughout the region and opted not to have any boats on the water at this years event.

We also caught up with Starship Yachts who had a prominent booth inside the air conditioned hall, as well as two boats on display, including a beautiful custom built Maiora. Edwin Ho, was pleased with the new dates: “With the show being held in January it is the right time of the year to meet visitors from around the world, who live here part time or are on holiday in Phuket. The show has been good this year, the first few days have been the busiest for us and we have had some serious enquiries.” In fact, Starship Yachts did have a successful show as they sold a Colbalt 262 at the event, by Sunday they only had one boat on display, which is a great result for the Starship Yachts team.

Bright Future

Show director, Andy Dowden said, “We are very happy, the visitor rate and the feedback we have had since the show closed on Sunday has convinced us that the we made the right decision about dates. We will build on this and make the show even more successful next year. It looks like the global economic woes of 2009 have not affected the marine industry here in Phuket and the future looks bright.”

The official figures show that PIMEX 2010 welcomed 3,500 visitors over the four day event. Seventy exhibitors offered a range of marine-focused product and lifestyle brands in the hall while outside the marina was chock full of luxury yachts - over 35 of which were brought in specifically for the show. Each evening the in water display was a fairy tale scene with the yachts lit up and lending a festive atmosphere to the whole boardwalk. Representatives from as far away as Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam are attending in increasing numbers. Early indications show that eight to 10 boats were sold over the four days at an estimated value of around USD 10 million.

www.phuketboatshow.com