Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show: Pattaya wants more affluent tourists
Pattaya wants to present itself as a leading center for maritime tourism in Southeast Asia and, like last year, will host the Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show. The second edition will be held on November 22-24, 2013.
The event, which is also sponsored by the Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT), aims to attract more affluent tourists to Pattaya.
The TAT sees Pattaya as a base to promote maritime tourism on the east coast of Thailand. The arrival of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) creates a growth potential of 10 percent.
Ms. Supatra Angkawinijwong, Deputy Director of Ocean Property, said that Ocean Marina is already the largest marina in Southeast Asia and with the arrival of the AEC, capacity will be further increased. This is necessary to keep up with the growth, because more and more wealthy Thai people are also buying a boat. In the past, the ratio of yacht owners at Ocean Marina Yacht Club was: 80 percent foreigners and 20 percent Thai. Last year, the Thai share increased to 38 percent. And this will continue to increase in the coming years.
Those who have some money to spend are welcome at the 2.600 square meter exhibition space on land and in the water at the marina. You can indulge in luxury yachts, motorcycles, cars, villas, expensive watches and more accessories for the wealthy.
For more information :
- website: www.oceanmarinaboatshow.com
- facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Ocean-Marina-Boat-Show/503449653059438
Video Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show
Below an impression of the Ocean Marina Pattaya Boat Show in 2012:
[youtube]http://youtu.be/LI7-CG42pgo[/youtube]
The yachts are not yet at the length of the boats that do their rounds around the waters of Phuket.
But what hasn't yet can certainly come in the economic pressure cooker Asia
Now let's get the facts straight before I really don't understand (anymore):
1. The Yingluck government wants to attract better quality tourists to Thailand;
2. Background: increasing problems with current tourist groups in Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya and to a lesser extent Hua Hin;
3. Tourism to Thailand is growing mainly due to the influx of Russians, Chinese and tourists from Malaysia;
4. Pattaya organizes a boat show to 'attract more wealthy tourists to pataya';
5. The growth in the number of boats in pattaya is mainly due to wealthy Thai people.
Now, be honest. Do people really think that (alone) a boat show will attract more wealthy tourists to Pattaya? Are wealthy tourists only interested in an expensive boat or also (or perhaps much more) in a safe holiday environment in which their privacy is guaranteed and they are not confronted with the negative aspects of Pattaya's type of mass tourism? The government and government in Pattaya may forget that there are two types of rich: those who have earned their money honestly and those who have become rich by doing business dishonestly or unethically. The latter group (Thai and non-Thai) is – in my humble opinion – already represented in Pattaya. That virtually rules out the other group being interested in Pattaya.