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As the Dubai International Boat Show dropped anchor at the Dubai Harbour for its 30th edition, the five-day annual event opened with industry leaders buoyed by “double-digit” growth in business, thanks to a steady rise in the tourism sector and an uptick in demand.
“Dubai Harbour today is the busiest it has bever been, with the number of visiting superyachts having doubled compared to the same period a year ago,” said Abdulla Binhabtoor, Chief Portfolio Management Officer with Shamal Holding, the Dubai-based investment firm managing Dubai Harbour.
“Our marina capacity is 700 [boats] and today we have close to 800 here, 200 of which are just here for the boat show. We are currently at 90% occupancy, and are continuing to grow, both in numbers and developments,” he said.
According to Dubai Tourism, the emirate today has a capacity of 3,600 berths across 15 marinas, with new developments at the Palm Jebel Ali and The World Islands adding to that figure. The number of boat owners across the UAE has also seen a steady increase and is projected to hit 20,000 by 2025.
Speak to business leaders in the industry and they call the Middle East the fastest growing market today in the maritime sector, with traditional regions hitting saturating point or struggling to set sail with regional turbulence.
“The largest market for yachts today is definitely Europe, but I think everyone knows what is going on there in recent years,” Mohammad Alshaali, Chairman of the Gulf Craft Group, told Zawya, alluding to the Ukraine-Russia war and its impact on demand.
While the demand from Russian buyers may have dipped, Alshaali said the Gulf market has been witnessing double digit growth, brought on largely by the geopolitical stability in this region.
“When you look at the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, this region is poised for faster growth, especially as a focal point for serving other markets in Asia and further afield,” Alshaali said.
Surge in superyachts
One of the arresting sights at this year’s boat show is the Superyacht Avenue, which presents a collection of the latest in luxury maritime design. It includes the regional premieres of award-winning boats such as the Riva 82’ Diva, the flagship of the publicly listed Ferretti Group, an Italian multinational shipbuilding company headquartered in Forlì.
With a price tag starting at 6 million euros ($6.49 million), the nautical offering smoothly sails right into a region such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), which has the second-highest fleet-to-billionaire ratio globally and is currently home to 12.6% of the world’s superyacht fleet, according to Knight Frank data.
The luxury yacht market is expected to grow in value from $306 million in 2022 to a projected $481 million by 2028, keeping up with the growth forecasted in the number of HNWIs in the UAE, which is expected to reach more than 228,000 by 2026, Knight Frank said.
Adam Yassin Raslan, Ferretti Group’s MENA supervisor, called the region a “market with a lot of potential, especially with the growth in the Saudi market”, in relation to the growing demand for superyachts.
For companies such as the UK-based Sunseeker yachts, which has four regional premieres at this year’s boat show, Sunseeker Gulf and Bush & Noble’s co-founder Brett Noble said this market was a “springboard” to launch models built just for this region alone.
“As a premier British boat builder… we are utilising the event as a springboard to revitalise our brand in the market, maximising the city’s expectation to grow and attract more HNWIs and UHNWI,” he said, adding that the brand was eager to display four models as a Middle East premiere “all made in the region, for the region, with Gulf-specifications to meet customer demand and improve onboard comfort.”
(Reporting by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)