The Hainan Rendez-Vous will celebrate China’s Year of the Water Dragon with several ocean giants among its fleet. Taking place April 5th – 8th on the sparkling shores of Sanya, the 2012 edition of Asia’s largest yacht show will delight visitors with over 130 yachts and superyachts, including several vessels over 40 metres in length.
The only event of its kind in Asia, the Hainan Rendez-Vous is a yacht show, a private aviation exhibition, and a gallery of elite upmarket brands representing every facet of the ultra-lifestyle. Art displays, entertainment, educational workshops and social events run throughout the fourday affair, giving visitors and sponsors abundant opportunity to mix, mingle, and enjoy themselves. About 15,000 visitors from all corners of greater China attended last year’s event, which received wide coverage in both the international and domestic press.
Organisers have expanded the show exhibition area 50% for the 2012 edition by renting five special purpose barges that extend the show out over the water. Even with the additional space, however, all berths and exhibition booths sold out by late December.
The 2012 show will have a significant increase in the number of exclusive events that allow for interaction between the show’s VIP visitors,
key exhibitors and sponsors. These will include private galas, yachting soirées and cocktail parties. A spacious new VVIP Lounge with exclusive corridor to an airport shuttle service will be a center for high-level meetings.
Virtually all the shipyards that exhibited at last year’s show are returning. They include Luerssen, Heesen Yachts, Blohm+Voss, Royal Huisman, Kingship, Oceanco, Feadship, Mondomarine, Edmiston, Brunswick group, Jeanneau, Beneteau, CNB, Azimut – Benetti, San Lorenzo, Ferretti Group, Marquis, Sunseeker China and Princess Yachts.
Megayacht builders have found Hainan Rendez-Vous especially interesting because the event attracts many of the rare financial elites in China who have the means to buy a vessel of this class. At least 300 ultra high net worth individuals will be flown as VVIP guests to and from the
show on private jets this year, with the flights being provided by aviation exhibitors. The big ocean giants at Hainan Rendez-Vous 2012 will include the majestic 50m motor yacht Sensation built by the New Zealand company of the same name; the spacious 44.65m Helix built by Feadship; the 50m Northern Sun, a unique expedition yacht converted from a Japanese marine research vessel; a 161-foot (49m) Trinity; and the beautiful 57m sailing yacht SY Montigne. Also sure to delight will be Horizon’s new Lady Gaga, a 33.5m superyacht designed specifically for the Chinese market, as well as the sleek 38.5m Onyx by Sanlorenzo.
The big increase in vessels at this year’s Hainan Rendez-Vous is further confirmation that organisers made an excellent choice four years ago when they decided on Sanya as the location of their boat show. At the time, the city was already developing quickly as a tourist resort with many new five-star hotels, but yachting infrastructure was minimal.
Since then Sanya has continued to develop at an amazing pace. Late last year, MGM Grand opened its new 665-room hotel in Yalong Bay, just shortly after Caesar’s Entertainment announced it will invest 36 billion yuan to build a resort and entertainment complex in Longmu Bay.
Numbers of tourists have further skyrocketed with the introduction of duty free shopping malls. Ten new marina projects are either under construction or under planning in Sanya, and the city is expected to have 5,000 berths by 2021.
“Hainan Rendez Vous is now a true international yachting platform with leaders coming from all over the world. The bet taken four years ago to bring into China an event introducing the yachting lifestyle is starting to be emulated in other parts of the country, with secondary cities especially interested in learning more about this new trend,” says Delphine Lignieres CEO and Founder of the Hainan Rendez Vous.