Thailand voted the toast of Asian sailing

In a recent survey conducted by Top of The Gulf Regatta together with the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, which aimed at determining sailing trends within Asia, Thailand was voted unanimously as the favourite sailing destination on the continent.

The survey found that Thailand is a popular sailing destination with international sailors, with many returning numerous times to enjoy the cruising grounds and sailing events Thailand has to offer Fifty-six percent of those surveyed said that the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta is their favourite regatta in Asia while 71% said that Thailand, with the main sailing areas being Phuket, Pattaya and Samui, is the best sailing venue in Asia due to an ideal geography, good weather conditions and beautiful scenery.

Thirty-one percent of the people surveyed were sailors who have been sailing in Asia for more than 10 years, with 27% newcomers (having sailed in Asia for only 1-3 years) and 15% having sailed in Asia for 4-6 years.

Asia has long been a popular sailing region with residents and expatriates. This was reinforced recently with the confirmation of an Asian series of the popular European Extreme 40 Sailing Series. More recently, there has been confirmation of Hong Kong being part of the Louis Vuitton Series in 2010. Such events bring the world’s attention on Asia as a leading sailing destination.

Mr. William Gasson, President of the Top of The Gulf Regatta, said, “Apart of organizing a good regatta, we have to understand the sailors and find out sailing trends, to help promote all sailing events in Thailand and expand the sailing network throughout the country and beyond.”

The recent survey showed that the majority of participants spent approximately 40,000THB on accommodation, food and drink during their time at the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, and that over 30% spent in the region of 150,000THB per person. Based on the survey results, it was found that Regatta participants spent over 40 million baht in the local economy during the Regatta week. These figures do not include expenditure associated with hosting the event, corporate hospitality, travel by participants, charter revenues and more. All of this is as a direct result of hosting the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta.

The Top of The Gulf Regatta is one of the major sailing events in Thailand. The Regatta is hosted by and held at the Ocean Marina Yacht Club on April 30 – May 4, 2010. The event is the only Marina-based regatta in Thailand and attracts over 200 different boats in different classes from optimists to bigger keel boats. For more information, visit www.topofthegulfregatta.com