Hong Kong Yachting Festival in the Works
Kara Yeung, Executive Director of Hong Kong Cruise and Yacht Industry Association and Andy Treadwell, CEO (Photo: HKCYIA)
The Hong Kong Cruise and Yacht Industry Association (HKCYIA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Verventia Pte Ltd to help develop, organize and operate an annual Yachting Festival in Hong Kong under the auspices of the International Cruise & Yachting Festival – International Cruise & Yachting Festival (Hong Kong) (ICYFHK).
The MOU was signed between Ms Kara Yeung, Executive Director, HKCYIA, and Mr Andy Treadwell CEO, Verventia, at the Asia Pacific Superyacht Conference (APSC) in Singapore on April 11, 2019.
The International Cruise & Yachting Festival (Hong Kong) 2019 (ICYFHK 2019), is expected to be a scale-up of the International Cruise & Yachting Festival (Hong Kong) 2018[1][1] . Scheduled to be held during the Hong Kong Maritime Week 2019 (HKMW 2019) between November 17 and 23, 2019, the Festival aims at promoting the maritime tradition of Hong Kong, raising public awareness of the maritime and yachting industries and encouraging employment.
Verventia is a leading boat show organizer in Asia and has organised and managed the Singapore show for nine years and the Thailand show for four years.
At the signing ceremony, Yeung said, “Yacht shows are important social events of the industry. Partnering with Verventia will undoubtedly buildup ICYFHK in the international yachting world to a crescendo in the coming years.”
She said the synergies from combining cruise, yachting and nautical tourism would be tremendous. Discovering the outstanding natural beauties of the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark and Hong Kong’s 260+ outlying islands by water could be developed as one of the most sought-after yachting hot spots in Asia. The benefits would likely spill over to other tourism and business sectors such as MICE and would attract businesses and investments to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
To promote the sustainable development of the cruise and yachting industry in the China, Hong Kong and Macao markets, HKCYIA will arrange a series of activities including the “Guangdong – Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Maritime Commerce & Economic Development Expo” during the HKMW 2019. Representatives of cruise companies, international yacht brands, tour operators and government maritime bodies will be invited to exchange their insights on development trends, opportunities and prospects, she added.
Yeung was a speaker at the APSC with a talk on “Paving the way for the development and growth of the Hong Kong and China yacht market” which provided delegates with insights into the yachting environment in Hong Kong and the GBA.
The HKCYIA has just announced its plan to partner with the China Merchants Industry Holding Co., Ltd. to set up a Superyacht Management Services Center in Tsing Yi, Hong Kong.
