Participation at Cannes Yachting Festival a ‘very important step’ for Malta’s maritime sector

Yachting Malta’s first venture to the Cannes Yachting Festival exemplified the local industry’s ability to provide exceptional service while working together to ensure that clients find their Maltese experience a smooth and pleasant one, says Michael Mifsud, CEO of the public-private entity set up in partnership between the Maltese Government and the Royal Malta Yacht Club.

Fresh off his return from the south of France, where Yachting Malta was joined by the Malta Ship registry, Visit Malta and the Super Yacht Industry Network, Mr Mifsud tells BusinessNow.mt that seeing surveyors, ship registrars, lawyers and corporate service providers tackling enquiries “in such a professional manner” was “amazing”.

He adds that the Yachting Malta stand doubled up as “a small home away from home” for the Maltese contingent of more than 50 individuals.

“Many Maltese boaters who made the trip to Cannes to plan their next purchase also stopped on the Yachting Malta stand from time to time.”

Mr Mifsud described Cannes as “Monaco’s younger sibling”, more known for the under 24m segment.

“In recent years Cannes has grown out of its traditional place in Vieux Port and has overflowed into Porto Canto. This growth caught the attention of Yachting Malta, who after consulting with the industry took on participation in this year’s edition.”

Over 50,000 people visited the Cannes Yachting Festival to see over 700 exhibited boats – making it Europe’s largest on the water boat show – including 120 world premiers, 610 exhibitors, over 120 sailing boats and 27,000 sqm of stands on land.

“Cannes is also very much in line with Yachting Malta’s vision as it embraces not only the growth of the sector but also the sustainability of this growth. The yachting industry looks toward its sustainability seriously and self regulates to enable it to be the leader is sustainable development,” says Mr Mifsud.

“As a Mediterranean maritime country Malta has many syneries with Cannes, a thriving coastal city which relies on tourism and festivals for its main economic drivers.”

“Yachting Malta and the industry players that participated consider this a very important step in the development of the industry in Malta,” he says, promising an even stronger return in next year’s edition.