Dubai Maritime City (DMC), the world’s first purpose-built maritime centre and a member of the Dubai World Group of companies, has predicted that boat ownership levels in Dubai will increase by 15 per cent within the next 12 months.

This is as a result of the increased availability of berthing space and better maritime facilities, said an official spokesman.

DMC is participating at the five-day Dubai International Boat Show (DIBS 2008) which began yesterday (March 11) in Dubai  and showcase its facilities as the main supply, service and refit centre for leisure boats and yachts in the region.
 
'This year's DIBS will be particularly interesting because of the increasing number of global boating aficionados drawn to the event, impressed by Dubai’s widespread waterfront developments and the increasing availability of maritime support facilities,” said CEO of DMC Amer Ali.

'Although much of the maritime infrastructure is still being developed, the maritime sector is now growing by more than 10 per cent; a strong indication of the increasing confidence in the local market and Dubai's enormous potential in this industry. With more berths, better marine facilities, and more suppliers, we expect boat ownership to really take off in the near future, especially in the leisure boats and yachts categories,” Ali added.

Dubai has traditionally been a boating community with its proximity to the Arabian Gulf and the expansive Dubai creek, but despite the strong purchasing power of citizens and residents, ownership of boats and yachts has achieved less-than-expected growth in the past few years primarily because of insufficient berthing areas.

To address this, DMC has planned extensive berth facilities that on completion will be able to accommodate a large percentage of the 30,000 – 50,000 boats predicted to be moored in Dubai within the next five years.

According to reports published in 2007, the boat ownership ratio is 1:45 in Sydney, and 1:12 in Norway; while exhibitors at DIBS 2007 announced that they expected the Gulf region to quickly overtake Europe in terms of per capita boat ownership.

Over 400 boats along with a wide range of equipment and services are on display at this year's DIBS. – TradeArabia News Service