PATTAYA, 10 July 2018: Plans for the 7th Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show, 29 November to 2 December, are gearing up for what organisers forecast will attract a record turnout of boating enthusiasts from around Asia.
The marina venue hosted the Thailand Travel Mart last month, considered the premier B2B show for the country’s travel industry.
That was the marina’s introduction to the wider show hosting market, beyond just hosting a single specialised boat show.
Last year, the boat show attracted 6,000 visitors from 22 countries.
“Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show has seen steady growth in the last six years. The number of boats and brands has increased year-on-year and in 2017 visitor numbers were up 23% on the previous year,” said Ocean Property’s acting managing director, Napong Paripontpochanapisuti, the organiser of the Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show.
“We invest over THB10 million to host the event, which is a key platform to boost business and tourism in the region. Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show generates more than THB2 billion annually for the boat industry and we expect that to grow by more than 10% per year.”
With strong support from the Thai government, organisers are investing heavily in a comprehensive online/offline visitor marketing campaign targeting high spend individuals throughout Asia and key cities in China. Expectations are high that the 2018 show will be the best so far.
Pattaya attracted more than 14 million visitors in 2017. Visitors are expected to increase as additional airlift and capacity at U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport comes online and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project starts to take shape.
Linking Pattaya, via the Hua Hin ferry, with the Thai government’s “Thai Riviera” project, which extends from Petchaburi to Ranong, will further strengthen Thailand’s East Coast as a prime tourism and business region.
“We are already seeing the benefits of East Coast growth in the marine industry. Charter and day trips are up 20% year-on-year, the number of new boats sold in the region is up 10% year-on-year and international yachts visiting the area is also increasing on the back of government changes to immigration rules last year,” said Ocean Marina Yacht Club harbour master, Scott Finsten.
“At Ocean Marina Yacht Club we are catering to this increased demand by expanding our capacity 15% to 440 berths”.
The show covers 20,000 sqm of exhibition space and in addition to the in-water boat display, demos and onshore marine products and services, exhibitors will include super bikes and cars, real estate, home products, hotels and resorts, food and beverage.
