Last week saw the Marina Industries Association conduct a very successful three-day luxury yacht marina tour. This was attended by 23 marina managers, administrators, as well as operators from around Australia and as far afield as Fiji and New Zealand.
Marina Study Tour 2014 participants at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron
World class facilities visited by the group included Gold Coast City Marina, Runaway Bay Marina, The Boat Works, Rivergate Marina & Shipyard, The Yard Brisbane, Southport Yacht Club, East Coast Marina, Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron and Wynnum Manly Yacht Club with marina hosts presenting and hosting a tour of the facility for the group at each location.
The tour which culminated in a visit to the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show on Friday offered an invaluable opportunity for participants to learn and compare world best practices in marina operations and network with other marina operators from the Asia Pacific Region.
Facilitated by tour hosts, Andrew Monks and Mark Robertson from Scarborough Marina, the participants enjoyed cruising the Gold Coast’s beautiful waterways, accessing a number of facilities via water along the way and providing opportunities to thoroughly inspect and compare each marina.
Management operations and industry best practices were then reviewed and contrasted in SWOT sessions at the end of each day which participants found a valuable and informative exercise to reinforce their observations.
Adam Wade, General Manager & CEO of Vuda Marina, Fiji said “the ability to visit nine professionally operated marina facilities over a couple of days while having the opportunity to tap into the knowledge and experience of many respected and experienced industry operators was invaluable.”
Rivergate Marina & Shipyard’s Head of International Department, Steve Fisher, remarked “the group was extremely keen to inspect our entire extensive operation and enthusiastically asked questions on all aspects of our business. It certainly provided a great networking opportunity for the diverse group, particularly for those who had travelled from overseas and interstate to attend.”
The MIA develops the marina study tours in Australia and overseas each year as part of an extensive education timetable for industry operators.
