The ICOMIA World Marinas Conference 2021 (IWMC), held at The Address Dubai Marina, Dubai, saw the participation of key industry leaders and international delegates, including leading marina and yacht club operators, owners and vendors of marina infrastructure, along with related government representatives and industry experts.
The much-awaited debut conference in Dubai and the Middle East, hosted by ICOMIA and the UAE based Leisure Marine Association MENA (LMA), was supported by key players including the Dubai Marina Yacht Club, P&O Marinas as the lead sponsor and Dubai Tourism and D-Marin Dubai Harbour Marinas as main sponsors.
The conference was sponsored by Emaar, Nakheel, Gulf Craft, Exalto Emirates, Navi Safe, Plus Marine, Alemco, Torqeedo, ATM, PivotRoots, IADYS, Poralu Marine, Homeport, and Seijsener.
The conference kickstarted with welcome remarks by Sara Anghel, President, ICOMIA; Martinho Fortunato, Chairman, ICOMIA Marinas Group; John W.R. Paul, Chairman, Leisure Marine Association MENA; Shirley Robertson, the Conference Moderator; Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing and Hamza Mustafa, COO, P&O Marinas.
Hamza Mustafa, COO, P&O Marinas, said, “Empowering the industry and realising its potential has been our primary goal and this can only be possible through networking opportunities provided by the events like IWMC which are integral to the leisure marine industry.”
Abeer Alshaali, Deputy Managing Director, Gulf Craft, said, “IWMC has been instrumental in uniting the leisure boating community over the years and has year after year encouraged the development of the local and regional leisure marine tourism sector.”
John W.R. Paul, Chairman of The Leisure Marine Association MENA, stated, “We could not be happier with how the conference turned out on the first day. It is exciting to see the global marina industry come together here in Dubai ready to tackle the challenges of the future.”
IWMC facilitated the growth of the leisure marine industry and united industry players in a secure environment, stimulating the UAE’s post-pandemic economic development.
The conference highlighted the industry challenges and opportunities through its talks and panel discussions, which also focused on subjects like the future of the leisure boating industry, social and economic trends, and their impact on marinas, business opportunities in the marina industry, and also incorporated the real estate point of view in addition to the stakeholders’ expectations.
Insightful sessions touched upon topics like the role of marinas for sustainable and resilient coastal and maritime tourism in the post-covid era, marinas and water sports integration, the transformation of commercial ports into nautical and leisure destinations, the operational and business aspects of marinas, and the role of marinas in empowering lifestyle and tourism.
Source: Emirates News Agency