Designed to set the pace as one of the leading luxury yachting lifestyle exhibitions in the region, the inaugural Indonesia Yachts Show 2013 took place in Jakarta on June 8 and 9. The event showcased a great variety of yachts as well as leisure crafts, together with suppliers of quality services to the yachting world.

Captain Jimmy from APS Indonesia at Indonesia Yachts Show 2013

Among debuting exhibitors, the Asia Pacific Superyachts Indonesia team, led by Captain Jimmy Blee and Richard Lofthouse, were part of the new yachting extravaganza showcasing the latest yachts to the growing class of Indonesian millionaires with massive dispensable income.

Captain Jimmy said APS Indonesia enjoyed a notable presence at the first Indonesian Yachts Show, reporting: “With Indonesia emerging as the ‘go to’ cruising destination in Asia, it was only fitting that Asia Pacific Superyachts had a strong and profiled presence during the event held at the Batavia Marina Jakarta.”

The APS display was decorated with beautiful cruising scenery and collected a great deal of interest over the two day event with APS reporting good crowds on both days: “We were very surprised how much interest there was in the potential for domestic Superyacht cruising at our booth”, said Capt Jimmy Blee. “We were often two deep in people at our exhibit booth, people with serious interest inquiring about our Superyacht services and what role APS played in the yachting industry in Indonesia.”

Asia Pacific Superyachts Indonesia is the most experienced Superyacht agency in the country with a 12-member team of dedicated marine, F&B and administrative staff well led by Richard Lofthouse. Richard’s luxury F&B background has established a service base Captains and Owners have to come recognize and appreciate. Captain Jimmy is often in demand by Superyachts as he has led many a fantastic cruising journey and comes equipped with a wealth of experience to share in designing a custom itinerary.

APS Indonesia Richard Lofthouse at Bali harbour

“Given the excellent reputation of APS in Indonesia it has been a natural progression that the majority of the bigger Superyachts, 50 meters and over, have relied on APS Indonesia for all of their cruising advise, support, service and logistic needs. We at APS Indonesia were very pleased to be part of the success of the first Yachts Show and look ahead to an even bigger and better Indonesian Yachts Show in 2014”, reports the APS Indonesia directors.

Captain Jimmy believes that as the fledgling Superyacht industry grows in Indonesia and more and more Captains and Owners discover the amazing cruising potential of the region, Asia Pacific Superyachts will be in the forefront to provide honest and transparent services of the highest level to all visiting and domestic vessels.

The country is seen as being tapped as an upcoming luxury yacht market and the Indonesia Yachts Show is expected to be among the leading luxury yachting lifestyle exhibitions in the region. The government’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy gave its formal backing (to be found on the Indonesia Yacht Show’s website and throughout the media leading up to the event), announcing: “The government has prepared a Presidential Decree No. 79 about how they will facilitate the ships sailing into Indonesia, said Director General Of The Tourism Destination Development, Firmansyah Rahim, alluding to work underway to make it easier for yachts entering and cruising in Indonesia.”

Jakarta is home to many of the country’s burgeoning nouveau riche and with the luxury yacht and lifestyle event in their own backyard, the yachting event is of keen interest to area millionaires, a population segment which is rapidly growing according to the Credit Suisse Research Institute: “The number of Indonesian millionaires will almost double to 207,000 by 2017, from around 104,000 in 2012.” From the ‘Indonesian Millionaires The Global Wealth Report’ by the Credit Suisse Research Institute, “Indonesia’s total wealth increased by US$420 billion to $1.8 trillion from January 2010 to June 2011 and was among the top 20 highest contributors of wealth growth.”

Next year’s dates for the Indonesia yacht and luxury lifestyle event in Jakarta has already been announced for 7-8 June. With the high interest from Superyachts in cruising Indonesian waters and the growing amount of highly affluent local Indonesians and expats in Indonesia searching for yachts and providers, Asia Pacific Superyachts Indonesia is among those looking forward to being part of the second Indonesia Yachts Show in 2014.