EUROPE IS REALLY SUCCESSFUL AT DIRECTING THE ATTENTION OF WELL-OFF MIDDLE EASTERN RESIDENTS WHERE NEEDED. EXPERTS PREDICT THE YACHTING BOOM IN THE PERSIAN GULF AREA, JUDGING BY THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND.
CURRENTLY THE YACHTING INDUSTRY in the region is threatened for the area’s dire lack of berthing. People would be glad to buy a 30-metrelong yacht, but they’ll have no place to anchor her. All the spots in the existing marinas are taken, while construction plans for new marinas force potential buyers to postpone the purchase for an indefinite period of time. Such is the situation in the region where life is pure luxury: skyscrapers touching the sky, expensive cars cruising the streets… The water surface, however, is clear.
At the moment the situation is as follows: in all the existing marinas available berthing does not match the demand. More specifically, there are only 750 berths in the UAE. The existing marinas have to be expanded and, of course, new ones have to be built.
Editors of "Aquatoria Of Luxury Life" were invited by the organizers of the Dubai International Boat Show to visit the region and look at the prospects of yachting facilities development. Firstly, the participants of the press tour were shown the existing marinas in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, the capital city of Qatar.
DUBAI
Dubai International Marine Club – Mina Seyahi is the oldest marina in Dubai and the location for boat shows and other yachting events, e.g. Class 1 Grand Prix Dubai Recently it has been expanded to include the Dubai Marina built at the base of the Grosvenor House. The new marina is considered more cutting-edge and has better service facilities. A developed quay with a fountain is a perfect place to stroll around. There are some restaurants that, unlike their counterparts at the Mina Seyahi, do not sell alcohol.
Jumeirah Beach Hotel Marina is a small marina at the famous namesake hotel that can accommodate guest yachts. However, there’s not a free spot in sight. The newly-built 250-metre-wide Festival Marine accommodates 100 yachts and provides high quality service. It’s located in the very heart of the Dubai Festival City which has 90 restaurants, 550 shops, 2 international schools, 12 movie theatres and a 18-hole champion golf course. The marina provides the whole range of services.
Speaking about future marina projects one should mention that yachting activity will be mainly concentrated around the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah. At the initial stage all cottages on each of the palm’s branches were designed to have a berth for the owner’s yacht and a guest pier. But in the end the initial project was turned down because of the difficulties with managing such complicated facilities. However, in the spot where the "leaves" come from the stem 2 marinas are being built at the moment: Anchor Marine East and Anchor Marine West. These 2 will host the owners’ yachts. They will accommodate up to 700 berths for yachts from 10 to 30 metres. Anchor Marine members will have an exclusive membership at the Clubhouse – the place where one can spend time comfortably, have dinner, hold business negotiations and meet friends for ice-cool cocktails. In the same area of the island that has already been called the 8th World Wonder 20 high-class hotels are going to be built. To anchor guest yachts in the middle of the "stem", on both sides, they plan to build 2 more marinas that will accommodate larger yachts.
ABU DHABI
Abu-Dhabi International Marina Sports, the biggest marina in Abu Dhabi located next to a shopping and entertainment center, is a place for members’ yachts, but can also accommodate guests arriving on their own yachts.
Albateen Marina is more aimed at the tourist fleet. Fishing yachts and cutters leave from there, as well as diving safari tours. But it also accommodates several bigger yachts that are evidently in private ownership.
In Abu Dhabi area there are many private islands owned by well-off UAE residents. They all have their own piers.
Abu Dhabi development plans feature the construction of contemporary cultural centers that will have their own small marinas and guest piers.
DOHA
In the neighboring Qatar that tries to outdo the Emirates much attention is paid not only to building artificial islands but to developing yachting facilities as well.
However, Qatar still runs behind the neighbor. As for now, there’s only one civilized marina at the Ritz-Carlton, the Ritz Carlton Marina.
In Doha the construction of the Pearl Qatar, another artificial island, is well underway. It will have a separate marina in the artificial bay of Porto Arabia. Besides, 9 separately mounded islands of Isola Dana also featured in the project had been sold in no time. They all feature own marinas built to accommodate owners’ and guest yachts. Pearl Qatar is only 20 km away from the Doha International Airport.
Another artificial island project is the Lusail, designed to accommodate 175,000 people. It was started on December 25, 2005. In the southern part of the island a big marina with highly developed facilities is going to be constructed.
Seeing that the problem of berthing for yachts of any size has been solved with a truly Middle Eastern flair, one doesn’t have to be an analytic expert to predict the yachting boom in the region. If the plans to expand the marinas in the Persian Gulf area by up to 60,000 berths are successfully realized (of which there is no doubt), one can easily conclude that the centre of international yachting will move from Europe and the USA to the hot Middle Eastern countries. Even if the number of marinas in the Middle East is less than that of the Cote-d’Azur, it will still be almost the same. The Middle East will be the place to project the newest yachting trends and regulate the supply and demand in the market of yachting services.
Evgeny Belov
Photoreport
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