Dubai boat sale boom is sign of economic recovery

Organisers of Dubai Pre-Owned Boat Show, held at the Dubai Creek marina, say the boom in sales this year is a sign that Dubai's economy is flourishing.

Visitors flock to the Dubai Pre-Owned Boat Show held at the Dubai Creek marina. Delores Johnson / The National

DUBAI // Boat dealers felt a more positive attitude about the emirate’s economy at this weekend’s used boat show with a Dh15.5 million yacht as its biggest catch.

The three-day Dubai Pre-Owned Boat Show, held at the Dubai Creek marina, took Dh1 million in sales on its first day on Thursday.

Organisers said they were expecting to see many more visitors yesterday and today, so they were confident that over the weekend they would surpass last year’s sales of Dh15 million.

Guerman Goutorov is the owner of the show’s most expensive vessel, the 2010 Azimut, an Italian-made 25.6-metre yacht equipped with four cabins, cabin space for five crew, a Jacuzzi and fully fitted kitchen. The Canadian expat, who has been in the UAE for 30 years, said he upsized to a 32m vessel and wanted to sell the current yacht.

“We’ve had a few offers,” he said, from buyers from countries including Turkey, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Mr Goutorov, the chairman of Streit Group, manufacturers of armoured vehicles, said Dubai was an ideal place for boating fans.

“Unlike Europe, you have nine months of the year when you can use the boat, rather than three or four maximum. The weather is good and the sea conditions are always so right, except for maybe 10 days a year.”

He said the market was improving as financial stability was returning to the emirate: “There are more wealthy people coming and more trust in the country.”

Brett Noble, co-founder of dealers Bush and Noble, said: “The market has grown a lot considering where we were in 2009-2010. There’s been steady growth in the last 12 months and there are a lot of people either buying for the first time or upgrading.”

The company had seven vessels – from six metres to 32 metres – on sale at the show, which also had children’s entertainment and watersports on offer.

“There’s more confidence in the market and people are feeling more confident about where things are going,” Mr Noble said. “There’s a lot more money coming into the country from some of the region’s more troubled countries, families relocating here, and we are seeing that.”

British expatriate Joseph Grub has recently arrived in the UAE. He has three vessels in Asia but was looking for a boat that could double as a home while living in Dubai.

“I’m interested to live on a boat although I have an apartment, so I’m looking into that and the logistics of it,” he said.

Peter Joseph from Trinidad and Tobago was hoping to sell his 7.6m cuddy cabin hydrosport vessel, which is designed for overnight camping.

“I don’t have the time I used to to spend on it so it’s just sitting outside,” he said.

The boat had provided perfect entertainment for him and his children, getting the family outside rather than going to the malls, seeing films or doing expensive activities.

“Just going to the movies would cost us Dh800 while going out on the boat, we just pay Dh100 for gas. It’s just good to get the kids outside, off the iPads and out in nature. There’s a lot of sea life here so you can see turtles, dolphins. It’s nice to reconnect with nature a little bit.”