AMSTERDAM – As Dutch superyacht builders led a boycott of the 2020 Monaco Yacht Show due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cannes show vowed to go ahead but with strict health safety controls. Both shows are must-do events for Dutch builders of sail and motor yachts and their supply chains.
The Cannes show (Sept. 8-13) plans to monitor crowding and mask-wearing. Visitors will see marked footpaths, hand gel dispensers and “increased daily disinfection of areas through which visitors pass.”
The Monaco show (Sept. 23-26), however, is stuck in a spat with some big exhibitors.
It will open without 15 superyacht builders from half a dozen nations They are members of the Amsterdam-based Super Yacht Builders Association who want to skip a year arguing it is improper to hold a show in a COVID-19 year. They also want lower exhibition costs in the future, have rejected a 30% cut in 2020 and complain organizers have for years refused to discuss lower prices. Also boycotting the 2020 MYS are members of the Large Yacht Brokers Association.
That’s a dark prospect for the world’s swankiest boating extravaganza.
Oceanco-built DreAMBoat
