The 2016 Monaco Yacht Show (MYS) opens its doors today at Port Hercules in Monaco.

Now in its 26th edition, this year’s show will cover an area of 20,000 sq m and feature 580 exhibitors, 125 superyachts and a selection of luxury tenders and other accessories for water sports and leisure. 

As many as 40 yachts will be making their world debut at the event.

An expected 34,000 visitors from all over the world are expected to attend the MYS over the course of its four-day run.

Private yacht owners, future buyers of yachts and decision-makers will tread the blue walkways of Port Hercules to board the most desirable superyachts of the year or discover the latest trends in naval architecture and the technological gadgets or nautical leisure accessories of tomorrow.

The show kicked off yesterday with the Monaco Yacht Summit which was attended by 50 VIPs, followed by an opening gala evening for 400 guests and private clients. 

The event will also feature the third edition of the MYS Superyacht Awards.

Today, there are 4,476 superyachts in operation, 1,099 of which are for sale, according to the 2016 annual report of Camper & Nicholsons and Wealth X. This market is sustained by a small number of clients, since there are only 200,000 super-rich people in the world, explains Gaëlle Tallarida, General Manager of the MYS.

“For more than ten years now, the yachting community has adopted the MYS as its ambassador on the world stage, a situation that earns praise but also creates new expectations,” she says. “So three years ago, the show reoriented its development strategy in order to meet and even anticipate the needs of private clients and high-level visitors, managers of large brokerage or shipyard companies, and all the sectors directly linked to yachting or complementary to this luxury industry.”

And while the Monaco show is considered a barometer of the health of the industry, it must also reflect an emotional experience, and thus the aim of the show’s organisers is to make MYS a genuine label. This ambition translates into the development of daring and innovative solutions to promote yachting to a worldwide audience, the high point of which is the show, Tallarida adds.


THE MYS EXPERIENCE 

In response to the express desire of the finest automobile manufacturers to participate in the show in recent years, a new exhibition space dedicated solely to luxury vehicles is being launched at the 2016 MYS called the Car Deck.

Located at Quai Rainier III in Port Hercules alongside the largest yachts in the show, the Car Deck will offer all visitors and exhibitors access to a 230-sq-m bar-lounge. All the partner brands in the zone have their own private spaces to hold meetings with clients. 

Luxury car brands whose most recent models will be presented include Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, in association with the maritime broker Burgess, Tesla with Model S, the world’s first premium sedan built from the ground up as an electric vehicle, and even the Centigon group, which will exhibit an armoured Range Rover. 

In all, a dozen prestige models are on display and available for purchase or a test drive in the heart of the town. 

The Car Deck supplements the exhibition space exclusive to the luxury sectors linked to yachting that already exist on the Upper Deck Lounge, the special welcome area for the show’s private and business clients that was launched in 2012.

Meanwhile, the Sapphire Experience offers a bespoke visit to the MYS exclusively for private clients interested in renting or purchasing a superyacht. Only 100 Sapphire Experiences are on offer, proposing a service of the highest quality to enable guests to enjoy the MYS experience: a customised on-line concierge service will accompany guests throughout the show to organise visits to preferred superyachts, reserve a courtesy car or a table for lunch.

Particular attention has been given to improving transport facilities so as to ensure regular trouble-free transit between the different exhibition areas that now cover the whole of the Port Hercules: the network of launches will offer direct routes between the various quays, including a special line for the crossing between the Quai de l’Hirondelle and the Quai Antoine 1er. 

On land, the golf cart service will offer new stops and extended service hours to back up the networks of bus shuttles and courtesy cars that will continue to connect hotels in Monaco directly with the show. Three helicopter lines will provide services between Monaco and Nice airport or the Cannes and Saint-Tropez business terminals. A new MYS app will additionally facilitate access to transport solutions and suggest the best route to the booth or yacht of interest to visitors.