Media
Release
10th November 2006, Kuala
Lumpur - At a press conference
held in Kuala Lumpur city, Alastair
Campbell, Executive Director of SailAsia
Sdn Bhd, the organisers of the event,
said The Langkawi International Boat
Exhibition (LIBEX) this November will
help promote the marine leisure industry
in Malaysia and bring boating closer
to the Malaysian public. The four-day
inaugural event opens its doors on Friday
24th November at the idyllic Telaga
Harbour, at Pantai Kok on Langkawi and
brings together a range of exhibits
on land and on water, including some
25 boats of different varieties.
"Our aim in organising LIBEX is
to help raise the profile of marine
leisure activities in Malaysia and further
promote the country as a regional marine
hub, with facilities to rival those
of our neighbours, such as Thailand.
" LIBEX is fully supported by Tourism
Malaysia, Langkawi Development Authority
and the State Government of Kedah Darul
Aman. "The response has been excellent
and the show is all but sold out,"
he added.
According to Graham Woods, Director
of SailAsia Sdn Bhd, Malaysia is attracting
a lot of attention from international
companies who are interested setting
up production facilities in the country.
"The political stability, favourable
investment climate and relative youth
of the Malaysian marine leisure market
are all key factors. These companies
see the huge potential that exists here,"
he said.
Aside from being an important trade
platform for the exhibitors involved,
LIBEX is set to bring boating in all
its many facets closer to a wider Malaysian
audience, said Mr Campbell. "Marine
leisure spans a huge range of watersports
and pastimes such as fishing, canoeing,
kayaking, diving, and more. These activities
are available to everyone at many different
levels, not just the wealthy. Many of
them do not involve having to own a
boat and it’s something the whole family
can enjoy," he said, adding that
chartering a boat with a crew already
provided is just one example.
LIBEX will have plenty of opportunities
for visitors to sample boating first
hand. "There will be free boating
workshops, and sailing tryout sessions
as well as other activities for people
to enjoy during the four-day exhibition,"
he added. The exhibition is open to
the public and visitors will be able
to view the many boats and exhibits
on display up close. The timing of the
event during the national school holidays
is also another reason for Malaysians
to visit this island paradise.
Over 50 companies from Australia, Thailand,
Singapore and Malaysia will display
boating products and services including
engines, navigation equipment, mooring
systems, berthing equipment, footwear
and more. An extensive range of international
boat brands will be represented at the
booths of Simpson Marine, Sunseeker
of the UK, Sunrunner of Australia, Asia
Marine from Thailand, Pen~Marine, and
Langkawi-based Pippen Marine. dk Yachts,
one of Malaysia’s leading boatbuilders
will be there, as will Langkawi-based
manufacturer JG Boats with its range
of JGX Rigid Inflatable Boats.
KTS Trading will showcase its Suzuki
outboards and Hong Seng Power its diesel
engines. Ropeworks of Singapore and
Cordage Industrial Rope of Malaysia
will bring their ranges of mooring and
berthing equipment. The latest GPS and
navigation equipment will be on display
at Pacific Satellite from Singapore
and at regional distributor phuketsail.com
of Thailand. Langkawi-based chandlery
Peninsular Yachts Asia will be displaying
the full range of its agency products.
Seal Superyachts, the shore support
specialists will be represented as will
charter organisations such as Sunsail
Asia and Crystal Yacht Holidays. Other
exhibitors in the Marine Pavilion include
Tanjong City Marina, Lantec Far East
with its range of Sunbrella fabrics,
Universiti KL and the Malaysian Marine
Department.
On water, the most majestic exhibit
will be Silolona, the magnificent 50-metre
luxury wooden sailboat built in the
traditional phinisi style. Silolona
offers the ultimate in private yacht
charter and is often used for corporate
cocktail parties and exotic honeymoon
cruises. A new Chitty Bang Bang class
vintage style runabout will also be
launched at LIBEX by Fleetdreams. The
36ft craft cruises in excess of 30 knots
while carrying 12 passengers and two
crew and is likely to be popular with
hotels resorts wishing to take guests
on classy island hopping tours.
Other on water exhibits include SY
Spellbound, a 55-foot GRP sailing catamaran,
which has recently emerged from a full
refit and now presents as a brand new
boat, luxuriously equipped throughout.
Over at the Best Dealz’ pontoon, the
Bahia 46, the latest catamaran from
Fountaine Pajot is set to turn plenty
of heads. In the monohull category,
Elite Yachting is bringing the Bavaria
42 Cruiser from Bavaria Yachts, a brand
new 42ft cruising yacht that will be
delivered to its new owner at LIBEX.
Simpson Marine will display a range
of new boats from the Sea Ray and Beneteau
stables including the Sea Ray 250 Amberjack
sporty powerboat, while the Beneteau
Oceanis 50 presents a beautiful modern
fast, blue-water cruiser. The Simpson
exhibit is also likely to include several
interesting brokerage boats. From the
Pen~Marine collection, the Ferretti
480 and the Gulf Craft Walkaround 31
will both make an appearance along with
several other new and brokerage boats.
The indoor pavilions and landed displays
will be staged on the large site adjacent
to the Mediterranean boardwalk of Telaga
Harbour Park with its range of restaurants,
the famous bakery, The Loaf, bars, shops
and popular entertainment spots. In
the Lifestyle Pavilion, the quirky CrocsTM
shoes will be available at the Kinderdijk
booth while developer TA Properties
will showcase its portfolio of developments.
Other exhibitors include Asian home
décor specialists Ethnic Colours
and the custom-designed jewellery of
Innovations by Mueen, while the Tourism
Boards of Negeri Sembilan, Perak and
Johor will showcase their respective
visitor attractions and holiday destinations.
Special arrangements are in hand with
Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia to ensure
there are sufficient flights for people
to travel to Langkawi during the period.
The organisers have also secured special
LIBEX rates with the principal hotels
on the island and shuttle transfers
will be arranged between the hotels
and the LIBEX site.
The idea for LIBEX first came about
last year when SailAsia introduced a
unique cruising Rally and its participants
to Malaysia for the first time. The
Rally, a 3,000-mile epic voyage, begins
in Darwin and passes through the Indonesian
archipelago before moving into Malaysia
and ending in Langkawi. "These
are round-the-world cruising yachts
owned by people from many countries,
including Australia, New Zealand, UK,
Canada, Sweden to name a few. The majority
of them had never been to Malaysia and
were delighted with what they discovered
here, many of them staying on for several
weeks and spreading the good news about
Malaysia over weblogs and email messages.
Some liked it so much, they have decided
to sign up for the Malaysia My Second
Home Programme," said Mr Campbell.
This year’s Rally participants crossed
into Malaysian waters last week and
are currently en route to Langkawi.
They will arrive in time for LIBEX and
the Grand Finale celebrations that are
being organized at Telaga Harbour. "Many
of the Rally boats will be moored in
and around Telaga Harbour and the participants
are eager to meet as many Malaysians
as possible," added Mr Woods. These
two events are part of what is being
tagged the "November Boat Fest",
which includes the Raja Muda Selangor
International Regatta and the Monsoon
Cup.
SailAsia is hopeful that LIBEX and
the Rally will play their part in the
Tourism Malaysia Visit Malaysia Year
2007 campaign. "Tourism Malaysia
is looking to attract some 20 million
visitors next year and generate RM12
billion in revenue. The multiplier effect
of events like LIBEX and the Rally are
considerable when you recognize that
every visitor or every boat coming to
Malaysia puts revenue in to the economy."
The amounts generated are estimated
to be in the order of RM70 to RM80 million,
he added.
LIBEX Fast Facts:
Dates: Friday 24-Monday 27 November
2006
Show Times: 11.00am to 7.00pm daily
Venue: Telaga Harbour, Pantai Kok, Langkawi,
Malaysia
Admission: Free of Charge
More details available at http://www.langkawiboatshow.com