At 18.30 on Saturday 26th September 2015 the horns from 121 Superyachts, that had sat sedately in
Port Hercules for four days, voiced their appreciation, marking the end of another triumphant and
undoubtedly successful Monaco Yacht Show.
With visitor numbers up yet again, this year by 1400 to 34,500, could it be a sign that in today’s
turbulent markets and intercontinental strife the demand for Superyachts, new and second hand,
remains strong. Many factors have affected this year’s summer cruising season and the demand for
used vessels. Sales appear good, chartering is off the chart, possibly signified by the fleet – less
numerous than in recent years ‐ anchored off the port. The result of a lower Euro, Russian sanctions,
cheaper fuel, a longer charter season, or possibly Owners realising the investment potential of their
vessels to the charter market and not selling. Of course we are all aware of the disappearance of several
significant builders during the past year, an indication of a tough new‐build market, even though major
Northern European yards are still nursing good order books.
What is also interesting is the surge in yachts booking refit and refinishing projects, not just in Europe
but also in the USA, for this winter. No doubt triggered in part, certainly within Europe, by the rebased
Euro and Turkish Lira but also a result of significant charter returns for most Owners now willing to
improve their offering for next year.
Whatever the reasons yacht Owners were walking the docks alongside many high profile businessmen
from the industry itself. The show, which held a record 582 exhibitors and partners, was kept busy, with
differing feed‐back on the activity within the tents of the new Show location at the Quai Antoine 1er.
Many of these stands were relocated from other areas of the show where construction work is, and will
be, taking place for several more years.
With the difficulties created by the building of the new underground car‐park and the unavoidable segregation of the show all efforts were made by the organisers to enhance the number of visitors to this new area:
- A new Monte Carlo Tender Show.
- A Water toys show.
- A pop‐up bar.A coffee‐terrace at Jetée Lucciana that served free coffee all day long.
- Golf carts to carry visitors from Quai Antoine 1er to Parvis Piscine and back.
- Extra ferries to carry people across the Port.
- Berths for four large yachts were introduced this year at Quai Rainier III which in future years
could host three 120 m Superyachts, thus facilitating anticipated future demand.
This worked in part, with a few complaints of lower footfall but also satisfaction that visitors to the
stands were well qualified. Reports of good business being done were received. Steps to improve the
experience here further for next year will be investigated and implemented.
700 people attended the Show’s Inaugural party on the Tuesday evening at the Salle des Etoiles ‐
Sporting Monte Carlo, where the 2nd MYS Awards were presented.
The Awards distinguished five superyachts displayed at the MYS:
- The Monaco Award: winner ‐ Taransay by Rossinavi.
- The MYS/RINA Award: winner ‐ Madame Kate by Amels.
- The MYS Exterior Design Award: winner ‐ Ester III by Lürssen.
- The MYS Interior Design Award: winner ‐ Madame Kate by Amels.
- The Finest new yacht of the 2015 MYS Award: winner ‐ Silverfast by Silver Yachts.
The buzz around the show this year was exceptional, restaurants were stretched to keep up their
service levels and the hotels were sold out for weeks in advance. An interesting fact was that over 400
journalists attended the MYS, these included prominent journalists from outside of the yachting
industry than ever before. The likes of CNN, Bloomberg, CNBC and the BBC were to be seen, a
significant sign that the high end yachting market is no longer the reserve of insiders but is now
becoming a mainstream news offering to the world’s wealthy individuals. It is a fact that if we as an
industry can portray ourselves publicly as being responsible and caring to the world at large it can only
help to market our unique product to new potential clients.
The second year of the MYS Captain & Crew lounge, with all its offerings, was a great success and along
with our sponsors and the visiting Captains and Crew, that are beginning to discover that our new
lounge is the place to visit when at the show, we can see no reason why next year, if not this, our
offering is the TOP Crew lounge at the MYS.
Anybody can be critical of any event, and we as organisers realise with the changes that took place this
year it would not be possible to keep every single person happy, our early feedback is positive and that
many of our clients on stands have had a good stream of enquiries. Of course the networking that took
place at stands, restaurants, parties and other gatherings is not quantifiable but being able to bring so
many professional people into one incredible space at the same time has in itself to be worth the effort
to all of those that attended. The MYS is without doubt one of the major cogs that helps weld our
industry together with B2C and B2B being possible, as nowhere else in the world, and being a part of
the experience allows participants to be a part of an industry that has no equal.
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Download images of the 2015 MYS at:
http://www.monacoyachtshow.com/en/media/photo‐library.html
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Monaco Yacht Show 2016
28 September – 1 October 2016
www.monacoyachtshow.com
