Chairman's Message December 2020
Goodbye to 2020 and Welcome to 2021!
This has been a year of many challenges, and our thoughts are with those members who have been affected personally by the Covid-19 virus, or whose business has suffered because of the restrictions and lockdowns. While some members of our industry have seen a decline in business, a good proportion of companies are seeing expanded opportunities. Many brokers are busy selling yachts, big and small, and although inter-regional transit on most yachts is down, many yacht owners are using their yacht extensively in their local area. Asia is still rising! Where yacht agents have been experiencing a decrease in international business, they have also seen an uptick in domestic sales and support services for yacht owners.
A special thanks to our existing APSA membership who have been incredibly loyal over the year, and on balance APSA has retained its membership at the same strength as before the pandemic. There are even some new members joining, which is very encouraging for the entire region..
The lack of boat shows has had a major impact on the industry. Virtual events have tried to fill the gap, but there is nothing like a “tangible” yacht show in our industry and we look forward to seeing them back in full swing asap.
In 2021 we will celebrate APSA’s 10th anniversary, starting with our own series of webinars in January, called the APSA Grand Tour 2021, following the cruising circuit of major destinations around Asia and Australia/NZ over a three-episode series. The Zoom Webinars will be held on the 12th, 19th and 26th January, at 1700hrs HKT (GMT +8hrs) so it will be a late-night talk show for New Zealand, a supper time slot for Australia, and a morning/breakfast show in Europe and UK. Unfortunately, it’s the red eye shift for the USA, but the webinars will be recorded so that listeners can tune in at their leisure.
APSA’s key role is to bring as much business as we can to our members. Plain and simple.
We always put our members first, and try to promote their business, and direct business their way. We are frequently contacted by parties all over the world, looking for contacts within the industry: these enquiries go directly to our members.
This business support is also augmented with promotion of the region as a destination. We do this through social media and publication of the APSA guide, detailing as many services around Asia and Pacific as we know about - not only our members. We also promote the region via events and yacht shows around the world. You, our members are the lifeblood of APSA so please use YOUR association to your advantage. Let us know what you are doing and how we can back you up and spread the word. Asia is still rising, and we want to bring YOU the business.
We look forward to working closely with the Asia-Pacific superyacht community in 2021, and we wish you a Happy New Year!