The 2020 edition of the Cannes Yachting Festival has been cancelled, according to reports and it is understood that organiser Reed Expositions is now reaching out to exhibitors to informing them of the news. The official cancellation of the show, which was due to take place from September 8-13, comes after organisers applied for special dispensation from the French government to hold the event.
Unfortunately, due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation the Thailand Charter Week 2020 has been postponed to 2021. The new dates are the 12th to the 15th of November 2021. The preliminary plan is for the opening ceremony from 5pm on Friday the 12th of November followed by two days of on and off water displays at the Phuket Yacht Haven. On Monday the 15th all yachts will participate in a cruise in company to Phang Nga Bay before returning to the Yacht Haven marina for the closing party.
Global Marine Travel (GMT) continues to climb the [Travel Weekly Power List](https://www.travelweekly.com/Power-List-2020/Global-Marine-Travel)as a high-valued Travel Management Company within the Maritime Industry, earning its new stripes at #43 in 2020 over #47 in 2019.
The Sanya Central Business District Administration is focusing on new ways to promote boating in China. A new ‘international yacht exchange centre’ has been set up to educate a new audience on the joys boating especially around the tropical resort island of Hainan.
The Singapore Boating Industry Association (SBIA) in collaboration with the Hong Kong Boating Industry Association (HKBIA), is organizing the Asia Boating Dialogue 2020. This Dialogue series was inaugurated in Singapore in 2015 as ICOMIA – The Asian Dialogue. It was an invitation-only event designed to engage the Asian boating community and help it become more institutionalized and organise collective thinking. It was subsequently promoted as the Asia Boating Forum.
Starting on a positive note we would like to welcome Kingship as APSA’s newest member. Roger and Diana Liang are well known in the Asian superyacht community as well as the rest of the world, and their son Jeffrey is joining them in the family shipyard business. It’s great to have them as members of APSA.
The Italian Super Yacht Life Foundation (ISYL) provides vocational training in association with NAVIGO and the shipyards in the Viareggio district. In October 2020 three new courses will be on offer to 75 high school graduates. Courses include technical skills and opportunities, whilst providing a pathway to employment in the yachting industry, and in other strategic sectors such as logistics and tourism.
What will be the new regulation landscape for this summer season in the French and Italian Riviera as far as VAT on charters and new measures imposed by the COVID health crisis are concerned?
