By IANS
Mumbai : Top international brands will showcase their luxury boats at the four-day second Mumbai International Boat Show (MIBS), which opens here Thursday.
This year MIBS will display the products at the ground exhibition in Bandra-Kurla Complex and the water exhibition at the Gateway of India.
The water expo will have high-end luxury yachts and boats of different varieties while the ground expo will show large self-built stands promoting small and medium boats, engines, water sports equipment and other sailing related luxury products.
“Following the tremendous impact of last year’s show, this version will make a bigger impact. Already the registered number of exhibitors and visitors has doubled as compared to last year’s show,” Malav Shroff, director of the MIBS, told IANS here Wednesday.
While 30 international brands and manufacturers of luxury boats, like Azhimut, Ferreti, Larson, Pershing, Majesty, have confirmed participation as exhibitors, more than 20,000 people have registered themselves to visit the show.
Shroff said expo marina at the Gateway of India is three times bigger than last year. By Wednesday evening, more than 20 luxury yachts ranging from 35 feet to 100 feet in length were docked at the marina. The rest are expected to arrive by Thursday morning from different parts of the world.
An interesting sidelight at MIBS will be the participation of one of Europe’s leading airliner, Finnair.
“We shall put up a stall at the Bandra-Kurla Complex with the theme of ‘North European Ice Experience’ where a variety of ice sculptures shall be displayed,” said a spokesman for Finnair.
The airline has commissioned professional ice sculptor Sakari Rautio to design and decorate the stall. Rautio will sculpt the scenic landscapes of the Scandinavian nations comprising Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Explaining the decision to select Mumbai as the venue for the show, Shroff said that Mumbai has a natural harbour with miles of sheltered coastline with great places to sail to and also because the city is known as the ‘Gateway to India’.
“Mumbai’s boating heritage is very old and historic. The world’s third oldest yacht club – the Royal Bombay Yacht Club was founded here in 1846,” Shroff said.
The MIBS is supported by the Maharashtra government, the British Marine Federation, Maharashtra Tourism and Development Corporation (MTDC), Indian Navy, Mumbai Port Trust, the Indian Coast Guard and the Yachting Association of India.