Whitsundays to host fourth Australian Superyacht Rendezvous in 2020

Organisers have this week announced that the fourth annual Australian Superyacht Rendezvous will be hosted in the Whitsundays by Coral Sea Marina Resort from 16^th to 18^th October 2020.

Recognised internationally as the South Pacific’s leading superyacht event, the Australian Superyacht Rendezvous – which has been staged on the Gold Coast since its inception in 2017 – will make an exciting move to the Great Barrier Reef. Invitation-only events will be staged across the three days for attending international superyacht industry heavyweights, superyacht owners and buyers, tourism and industry professionals plus politicians and media.

The prestigious annual Australian Superyacht Rendezvous showcases the Australian superyacht industry, its capabilities and economic potential, along with Australia’s destination appeal.

The Australian Superyacht Rendezvous has sparked a strong vision for driving more high-end tourism ‘down under’ and more internationally flagged superyachts are setting their sights on Australia’s charter potential.

The three-day programme for this year’s event includes a full Whitsunday’s superyacht and island immersion for VIP guests. Attending guests will be transported, by participating superyachts, to a range of land and sea-based Whitsunday-exclusive experiences including a lunch on Whitehaven Beach, reef adventures, wildlife tours and more.

Around $250 million worth of Australia’s leading superyachts – those for charter or sale – are expected to participate.

Paul Darrouzet, owner of new host venue Coral Sea Marina Resort who is taking over the organising reins of the Australian Superyacht Rendezvous, says it is an exciting opportunity to showcase the superyacht cruising potential of the Great Barrier Reef.

“Australia’s prominence on the global superyacht stage continues to gain momentum and the 2020 Great Barrier Reef edition of Australian Superyacht Rendezvous is our opportunity to showcase to the world our unrivalled and pristine cruising charter grounds for superyachts,” he said.

“Globally, more superyachts are looking to migrate to the southern hemisphere to capitalise on fresh charter destinations like the Great Barrier Reef, and the Australian Superyacht Rendezvous represents an exceptional opportunity to tell the international superyacht world we are ready to welcome them.

“Superyachts are an exciting tourism avenue for Australia thanks to environmental cleanliness and standards of these vessels; they offer low impact but high yield tourism.

“While international superyacht guests are intensely private, it is conservatively estimated that a single foreign guest on board a superyacht would spend in the order of $15,000 to $25,000 (c. £7,977 to £13,216) per day – and that is something from which the Whitsundays and the broader Great Barrier Reef could yield significant tourism impact.”

Queensland is arguably leading Australia’s global superyacht charge and in addition to having hosted the Australian Superyacht Rendezvous since 2017, it was the first state in Australia to release a ‘Superyacht Strategy’ in 2018.

The strategy’s vision is to increase Queensland’s share of the global superyacht sector by 10% by 2023 and see Queensland positioned as the Asia Pacific region’s superyacht hub. The strategy recognises that Queensland boasts the largest concentration of marine trades within the southern hemisphere, significant cruising grounds such as the Great Barrier Reef and some of the largest marina facilities equipped to cater to superyachts.

According to statistics released from The Superyacht Group in March 2019, the global superyacht fleet has increased from 3906 crafts in 2009 to 5646 in 2019 with around 150 new superyachts delivered annually across the globe, while the 2018 Queensland Superyacht Strategy reports around 200 are based in Australia which equates to around 4% of the global superyacht fleet.

According to Superyacht Australia, the overall superyacht industry in Australia is projected to grow to $3.34 billion (c. £1.76 billion) by 2021. In 2016, the industry was estimated to be worth $1.965 billion (c. £1.03 billion).

Organisers are now inviting all past and potential sponsors, media partners, superyacht owners, brokers and marine industry players within Australia and overseas to register their interest in the 2020 Australian Superyacht Rendezvous – Great Barrier Reef Edition via www.australiansuperyachtrendezvous.com.

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