The remarkable rise in the number of yachts in the country has necessitated a corresponding growth in the number of berths in local marinas. A view of the marina in the Pearl-Qatar. PICTURE: Jayan Orma.
By Ramesh Mathew
More berths are needed in Qatar’s marinas to keep pace with the phenomenal growth in the demand for luxury yachts, cruiser boats and family leisure crafts among the country’s residents, industry sources have said.
“There have been a significantly large number of inquiries for yachts and other cruisers from the region, especially Qatar and the UAE, in the last couple of years,” an Italian boat builder told Gulf Times.
Though some young Qataris have placed orders with boat manufacturers in Italy, the absence of adequate number of berths in some of the local marinas is delaying the arrival of their boats, he explained.
The Venice-based shipyard owner, who was in the country last November for the first International Boat Exhibition held at Lusail Marina, said he was happy at the response that boat manufacturers from Europe had received from Qatar and hoped the trend would continue.
The Italian boat maker said that with the further expansion of marinas in Lusail and in other similar facilities in the West Bay, more luxury cruisers and yachts would be housed in the country’s marinas in the next few years.
The boat exhibition at Lusail attracted at least half a dozen major ship building yards besides a number of manufacturers who have an impressive record in the industry.
“A three-day exhibition that concluded yesterday at The Pearl-Qatar was another event that showcased the enormous interest of the locals and other affluent residents in the yachts industry,” said a resident who has his boats housed in the mixed development’s marina for more than three years now.
The growing interest of Qataris in the boat business is manifested in the Qatar Boat Exhibition. Already the organisers have received confirmation of participation from many boat builders for the second edition of the five-day event to be held in November this year at Lusail.
With the possibility of more marinas coming up in the West Bay and other places in the north, Qatar could attract more luxury boats in the coming years and the industry could get a major boost by the turn of the decade, predicted a Western expatriate who was closely associated with last year’s event at Lusail.
