Regatta Samui 2012: May 28th - June 2nd
The Regatta in the News...
Chairman of the Regatta Callum was recently interviewed by the Nation newspaper to see how an event like the Sawadee.com Regatta Samui can positively impact the economy of a country like Thailand.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/read.php?newsid=30102711
You can see the full transcript of the interview here:
- What’s the outlook of yachting business in Thailand and in Samui Island this year compare to previous prior tourism slump?
There is no question that it has had an impact. The conversations we are having with boat owners from around the region is very different from 12 months ago. However, I think most people are pretty pragmatic about the long term future of Koh Samui and Thailand . General consensus is 2009 and 2010 are going to be more challenging then recently but that the area is so beautiful people will be back as things improve. The yacht industry in Thailand still has plenty of room to grow.
- What do you see the impact of worldwide financial crisis and political turmoil to operators in Samui?
We have already seen a number of developments and initiatives either stop or be put on hold indefinitely. The reality is that people have a lot of choice about where they spend their holidays. As people around the world feel the pinch it is important that Thailand continue to sell itself on the things it does well. Unfortunately the sort of images of the political turmoil that often end up on BBC and CNN do nothing to help operators promote the place.
- How many operators are there and how do they deal with the crisis, anyone closed the door due to sort of tourists?
Samui has seen a lot of growth in resorts, hotels and villas over the past few years. Most are looking at price promotions and laying off staff to try and get through the lean times as visitor numbers drop. We have been very lucky that we have partnered with Web Sawasdee PLC who run Sawadee.com and ‘One2book’ call center and travel agencies on BTS Stations. They are the number one inbound booking agent on the island and are very forward thinking in their approach to marketing and promoting Thailand . Working with them we had a major presence at the main travel show in Berlin , ITB, we are also able to use their extensive online coverage and network of agents to promote the regatta globally. Although not an easy decision to make I think it is a great testament to companies like Web Sawasdee PLC and Centara that host the regatta that they see the value in supporting events like the Sawadee.com Regatta Samui 2009.
- What is total market value and how many regular yacht lovers into the island each year and projection for next few years
The Samui Regatta, now the Sawadee.com Regatta Samui, is in it’s 8th year and is the longest running and biggest International Sporting Event on the island. Last year we had 33 yachts and around 330 participants, this year we are expecting around a 10-15% increase. Because Samui currently does not have a marina most of the yachting enthusiasts are coming from abroad or from Phuket and Pattaya. Once a marina is built on the island we are expecting a significant increase in the number of participating yachts. This year we have an extensive number of sailors from Australia and we are expecting that to grow year on year. The regatta is also very committed to giving back to the island. We financially support a free Youth Sailing initiative every weekend for island kids and we have started a Sports Scholarship with Bluewater school which will pay for the education of several children each year who otherwise wouldn’t get that opportunity.
- Details of this year regatta: date of event, expected visitors, revenue projection and future business of yachting?
This Regatta will run from the 1st to the 6th of June, although we also have an Australian Skiff tournament for a few days before hand. Over the course of the week we are expecting several thousand people to come by the regatta, drop by the Regatta Bar and go out on the Spectator boats. We are already seeing plenty of bookings from HK, Singapore and Bangkok coming in. Last year we generated 97 million baht for the Thai economy, with the extensive media spend this year and even allowing for the economic climate we are expecting that to rise to nearly 500 million baht this year. We have already started planning next years event and it will allow us to significantly increase the number of spectators which I hope can take us to 1 billion baht in 2010.
To my mind these sort of figures show the power of Sport as a significant tool, even in a downturn, to generate positive media and visitor numbers for a country. You only need to see the amount of support governments like Singapore, Malaysia and even Indonesia are now putting behind sports to, hopefully, see where this is going in Thailand.
For yachting specifically I think Thailand is in a very good place. Yachting events in Asia are still no where near the major events that they are in the rest of the world yet Thailand has such natural beauty that as long as we provide the correct infrastructure I am expecting a significant growth in the number of yachts coming to Thailand and wanting to compete in events like The Kings Cup, Phuket Race Week, Top of the Gulf and of course the Sawadee.com Regatta Samui.
Suchat
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/read.php?newsid=30102711
You can see the full transcript of the interview here:
- What’s the outlook of yachting business in Thailand and in Samui Island this year compare to previous prior tourism slump?
There is no question that it has had an impact. The conversations we are having with boat owners from around the region is very different from 12 months ago. However, I think most people are pretty pragmatic about the long term future of Koh Samui and Thailand . General consensus is 2009 and 2010 are going to be more challenging then recently but that the area is so beautiful people will be back as things improve. The yacht industry in Thailand still has plenty of room to grow.
- What do you see the impact of worldwide financial crisis and political turmoil to operators in Samui?
We have already seen a number of developments and initiatives either stop or be put on hold indefinitely. The reality is that people have a lot of choice about where they spend their holidays. As people around the world feel the pinch it is important that Thailand continue to sell itself on the things it does well. Unfortunately the sort of images of the political turmoil that often end up on BBC and CNN do nothing to help operators promote the place.
- How many operators are there and how do they deal with the crisis, anyone closed the door due to sort of tourists?
Samui has seen a lot of growth in resorts, hotels and villas over the past few years. Most are looking at price promotions and laying off staff to try and get through the lean times as visitor numbers drop. We have been very lucky that we have partnered with Web Sawasdee PLC who run Sawadee.com and ‘One2book’ call center and travel agencies on BTS Stations. They are the number one inbound booking agent on the island and are very forward thinking in their approach to marketing and promoting Thailand . Working with them we had a major presence at the main travel show in Berlin , ITB, we are also able to use their extensive online coverage and network of agents to promote the regatta globally. Although not an easy decision to make I think it is a great testament to companies like Web Sawasdee PLC and Centara that host the regatta that they see the value in supporting events like the Sawadee.com Regatta Samui 2009.
- What is total market value and how many regular yacht lovers into the island each year and projection for next few years
The Samui Regatta, now the Sawadee.com Regatta Samui, is in it’s 8th year and is the longest running and biggest International Sporting Event on the island. Last year we had 33 yachts and around 330 participants, this year we are expecting around a 10-15% increase. Because Samui currently does not have a marina most of the yachting enthusiasts are coming from abroad or from Phuket and Pattaya. Once a marina is built on the island we are expecting a significant increase in the number of participating yachts. This year we have an extensive number of sailors from Australia and we are expecting that to grow year on year. The regatta is also very committed to giving back to the island. We financially support a free Youth Sailing initiative every weekend for island kids and we have started a Sports Scholarship with Bluewater school which will pay for the education of several children each year who otherwise wouldn’t get that opportunity.
- Details of this year regatta: date of event, expected visitors, revenue projection and future business of yachting?
This Regatta will run from the 1st to the 6th of June, although we also have an Australian Skiff tournament for a few days before hand. Over the course of the week we are expecting several thousand people to come by the regatta, drop by the Regatta Bar and go out on the Spectator boats. We are already seeing plenty of bookings from HK, Singapore and Bangkok coming in. Last year we generated 97 million baht for the Thai economy, with the extensive media spend this year and even allowing for the economic climate we are expecting that to rise to nearly 500 million baht this year. We have already started planning next years event and it will allow us to significantly increase the number of spectators which I hope can take us to 1 billion baht in 2010.
To my mind these sort of figures show the power of Sport as a significant tool, even in a downturn, to generate positive media and visitor numbers for a country. You only need to see the amount of support governments like Singapore, Malaysia and even Indonesia are now putting behind sports to, hopefully, see where this is going in Thailand.
For yachting specifically I think Thailand is in a very good place. Yachting events in Asia are still no where near the major events that they are in the rest of the world yet Thailand has such natural beauty that as long as we provide the correct infrastructure I am expecting a significant growth in the number of yachts coming to Thailand and wanting to compete in events like The Kings Cup, Phuket Race Week, Top of the Gulf and of course the Sawadee.com Regatta Samui.
Suchat
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