16th Samui Regatta to Take Place 20-27 May 2017

Samui island in the Gulf of Thailand has hosted a number of world-class international sporting events over the past few years, the largest and longest running being the Samui Regatta.

Turning 16 this year, Samui Regatta has grown to attract some of the best yachts in Asia and a large spectator following all of whom come to Samui for great sailing and excellent beach parties.

Regattas Asia, organisers of Samui Regatta, recently undertook a survey of participants and the findings underscore the importance of the event to the local economy.

“Samui Regatta contributes significant revenues to the local economy every year. Most of the 500 or so participants come from overseas to compete and have high disposable incomes. The majority stay for 7-10 days during the regatta and our research shows that spend on food and accommodation only, is a minimum of 5,000THB per person per day. This does not include money spent on flights, travelling around the island, and other lifestyle and entertainment expenditure,” said Ms. Kae Wattana, Managing Director of Regattas Asia.

The survey's findings are for the regatta period only and do not take into account holiday time either side of the regatta and return visits to Samui during the year.

“Samui Island is one of the top tourism and yachting destinations in Asia. We have organised Samui Regatta for 15 years and each year we see the number of yachts that come to the island is growing. I believe this growth will continue as more and more people experience the beauty of Samui and the unmatched sailing it has to offer,” Ms. Wattana added. “This year we will again have a spectator boat at Samui Regatta which members of the public and tourists can join to experience the event and learn more about yachting. Our aim is bring the event and yachting closer to people, to increase people's understanding of yachting, and to attract more visitors to Samui Island.”

Samui Regatta consists of five days of racing and six nights of parties, including daily prize-giving on the beach and a lavish Gala Dinner hosted by Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui on the final night.

The spectator boat costs 800THB per person per day and tickets are available for the daily prize-giving at 1,000THB per person per night and for the Gala Dinner at 2,500THB per person.

The 16th Samui Regatta will take place 20 to 27 May 2017 headquartered at Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui and is the season-ending event in the AsianYachting Grand Prix championship.

The regatta is organised by Regattas Asia in conjunction with the Samui Yacht Club Regatta, under the auspices of the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand, the Municipal of Koh Samui and the Sports Authority of Thailand.

See also: Woman Sails from California to Terengganu, Malaysia - HD Video Interview.

See latest HD Video Interviews, Podcasts and other news regarding: Sailing, Samui, Regatta.