Sustainable Success for Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show 2019

Four days of beautiful sunny weather greeted visitors to the 8th annual Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show from 21 – 24 November.

The show was opened by Mr. Napintorn Srisunpang, Vice Minister for Tourism and Sports, and other VIPs.

More than 20 brands of boats were represented with leading brokers Simpson Marine, Boat Lagoon Yachting and Azimut Yachts all present at the show with in-water displays as well as Technohull, Capelli and Funseeker.

Howard Prime, Simpson Marine's Country Manager for Thailand, said, "We were expecting to have reduced numbers on 2018, and in fact the footfall is slightly down so far, however the sort of client that we have seen looking at all of our boats has been quite serious and from that point of view we are quite pleased with what's going on."

When asked how he measures the success of attending a boat show, Howard said, "It's simple, we just look at the numbers. We look at footfall, we look at the quality of the lead that we have looking at either the power or sail boat ranges that we represent here in Asia. We look at the information that we require and ultimately how many boats we sell from it.  At the moment, looking at the early stages of information, it is looking quite promising."

The Food Festival was a focal point through each day and into the evening as visitors gathered to enjoy delicious bites from many of Pattaya and Bangkok's leading restaurants and food trucks such as London Pie and Prime Burger, as well as refreshing drinks from leading beer, cider and wine companies such as The Londoner, Pattaya Wine and San Miguel.

The helicopter rides proved a big hit, with visitors taking the chance to see Jomtien and Pattaya from above, whilst the free yacht cruises, daily sunset cruise, and S\V14 two-person dinghy trials allowed visitors to get a feel of how fun being out on the water can be.

Siam Seaplane - the first premium seaplane service of its kind in the area, and a newcomer to the show - caught the attention of many, as the company explained the type of services that they plan to offer (see the exclusive interview below).

Organisers placed a strong emphasis on sustainability this year, introducing free water refill stations at the show and implementing a strict no single-use-plastic policy. This was well-received and saved an estimated 5,000 single-use plastic water bottles as a result.

Mr. Scott Finsten, Harbour Master of Ocean Marina Yacht Club, organisers of Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show, said, “Our goal as organisers is to provide a platform for business and to promote yachting and the Gulf of Thailand to Thai residents and visitors from overseas. The weather was great this year, visitors enjoyed the diverse displays, some serious leads were generated and we helped to showcase Thailand's yachting industry to thousands of visitors. I'm also very proud of how the marine industry, exhibitors and visitors came together to reduce the plastic used this year. So much single-use-plastic ends up in the oceans and it's important we work together to stop that.”

Simpson Marine - Interview with Howard Prime, Country Manager, Thailand

Seaplanes in Thailand? Interview with Dennis Keller, CBO of Siam Seaplane

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