March 2007 RSD attended the Dubai Boat Show for the third time in 2007, and came away with a real sense of having made genuine progress in winning recognition in this exciting emerging market. Demonstrating commitment is an important part of gaining trust in this environment, and RSD was delighted to consolidate and build on a range of contacts made in previous years. The superyacht marketplace in the Gulf has seen some changes in that time period. RSD had two to three serious enquiries this year regarding the 88-metre concept that it had on display, a significant increase in scale given that last year much of the enquiry was at the 45-metre level. Discussions were also held regarding vessels in excess of 100-metres, and the company is now working up schemes to be presented later in the summer. On a more general note Dubai appears to be much more open to business than in previous years, with local companies looking to partner with overseas firms on outfitting and other projects. The Show itself also appeared to have a greater proportion of potential clients than perhaps it had in previous years, with a steady flow of visitors to the RSD stand bringing substantive enquiries regarding both new builds and refits. The atmosphere this year was for the first time reminiscent of the Monaco show, with existing customers showing up to discuss current and future projects, something of a new development. RSD has high hopes for the coming 12-month period as it follows up various leads and projects from the UAE. This may well spur the requirement to increase investment for the 2008 Dubai Boat Show to ensure that RSD`s profile is aligned to the high expectations of the UAE emerging market. |
