The annual Yacht Valley Press Tour 2011 held by the Holland Yachting Group was warmly received by the attending journalists. During a productive week at the end of May, editors and feature writers from all the leading international magazines were given exclusive access behind the scenes at the top yards, equipment suppliers and naval architects. The Yacht Valley Press Tour also included networking opportunities, sea trials and social gatherings.
Yacht Valley Press Tour 2011
The Yacht Valley Press Tour has become a keynote event on the calendar of all major yachting magazines over recent years. It gives an invite-only group of journalists the chance to come to Holland and visit the yards and suppliers of their choice during a single week, with all transport, accommodation and organisation arranged by the HISWA Holland Yachting Group. A new feature this year was a speed dating session with Holland Yachting Group marine equipment suppliers.
“It is an intense experience travelling around Holland from yacht to yard, supplier to architect, but there is a reason I come back every year,” comments Phil Draper, Editor/Publisher of Yachtbuilder International. “The Dutch industry revolves around customisation so things are continuously changing. You see yachts at every stage of development, giving a genuine sense of how projects evolve. There is also a great deal of innovation year-on-year in construction techniques, technologies and systems. I love seeing the latest trends (from balconies to beach clubs) emerge and be put into practice by the leading exponents of their craft. This aspect of the Dutch industry is fascinating and it is obvious why owners who value quality above all still head for Holland.”
Sigrid Nettesheim, Editorial Assistant at Boote Exclusiv magazine, joined the Yacht Valley Press Tour for the first time. “I found it a great week, very well organised and very professional. The tour gives one a much more in-depth idea of what lies behind a superyacht. It’s really useful to be able to see with your own eyes what goes on at the yards and it gives a great deal of insight and work for us to report on. It is also hugely impressive to see how the yards and suppliers really click together, although they are sometimes competition. The expertise in Holland is at a very high level and the bonds between the yards and suppliers seem very close.”
“This is my third tour of the past decade and to see the change in terms of the output of the yards and suppliers is quite staggering,” says Tim Thomas, newly appointed editor of Boat International. “It really drives home how important Holland is to the yachting industry, where yards lead the way either in the method, quality or style of construction. The quality of all the yachtbuilders is head and shoulders above nearly every yard I can think of and the uniformity of quality across the Dutch industry is why it has the reputation it does and is so successful.”
Superyacht World editor-in-chief Hugo Andreae found the tour very interesting. “I enjoyed seeing how the whole industry fits together rather than one particular yard that is specialised in a given area or boat type. Holland has this huge specialisation in yachting and the speed dating sessions with the suppliers showcased the sense of identity and immense pride in being Dutch yachtbuilders rather than just individual companies in competition with each other. This is of course why owning a Dutch yacht is something to aspire to, regardless of what particular brand that may be. However good value a yacht might be, when you are spending many millions of Euros you want to feel proud of owning that boat. I think that this is far more important to clients than getting the cheapest option.”
The next Yacht Valley Press Tour will take place from 4 June to 8 June 2012.
Holland Yachting Group - an Amels superyacht
