Sri Lanka participates at Dubai International Boat Show 2024
Daily FT: The Export Development Board (EDB) organised Sri Lanka’s participation in the 30th edition of the Dubai International Boat Show (DIBS), which took place in Dubai, UAE from 28 February to 3 March 2024, with help from the Sri Lanka Embassy and Consulate General in Dubai.
The Boat and Ship Building sector has been identified as an emerging export sector which offers a wide variety of products and services to the international market. The sector uses advanced materials and technologies to be on par with global counterparts aligned with sustainable manufacturing.
The increasing demand for boats worldwide, regional and local for fishing, industrial, commercial and leisure purposes open up huge opportunities and new markets for Sri Lanka, due to its strategic location, highly trainable workforce and the labour cost advantage.
The government having identified the importance and the potential of the development of the sector has made arrangements to strengthen the marketing, promotion and branding initiatives of the industry parallelly to enhance the national and international recognition of the Sri Lankan Boat industry.
Therefore, in order to raise the awareness on the potential of the industry, EDB initiated a number of promotional programs for the Sri Lanka Boat Building industry to increase the national and international visibility of the Sri Lankan Boating industry. Accordingly, EDB co-organise the Boat and Marine Show Sri Lanka with the relevant stakeholders biennially and organised Sri Lanka country pavilions at the world premier boat shows such as Genoa Boat Show – Italy and Dusseldorf Boat Show, Germany.
In continuing this efforts EDB organised a Sri Lanka Country Pavilion at the Dubai International Boat Show (DIBS) held from 28 February to 3 March in Dubai, UAE, with objectives of enhancing the international visibility of Sri Lanka boat building and marine industry, gaining knowledge on market trends, new products, competitor intelligence, latest technology available etc. and establishing business contacts with boat and marine venders across the world.
Accordingly, three Sri Lankan boat builders and exporters are showcasing their products at this premier show to explore possible avenues in developing and promoting the Sri Lanka Boat Building industry.
DIBS is the largest and most established boat show in the UAE, GCC, and Middle East and serves as a platform for industry professionals, boat owners and potential buyers to network, build relationships and explore business opportunities. It provides a conducive environment for conducting business meetings, forging partnerships and discussing the latest trends and developments in the industry.
The show features an impressive display of boats and yachts from renowned manufacturers and shipyards worldwide. Visitors can explore a diverse range of boats, from small dinghies to luxurious superyachts and witness the latest designs, technologies and innovations in the boating industry.
Also, it is expected to get maximum benefits of the seminars and discussions held parallelly with leading industry experts on yacht brokerage, yacht charter, yacht transportation and delivery to update the knowledge Sri Lankan exhibitors attend at the show.
In this context, Sri Lankan participants received a precious opportunity to present capabilities of the Sri Lankan Boating industry at the seminar to be organised parallel to the DIBS.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s manufacturing industry has been on a growth path through the years, even during challenging economic conditions experienced by the country in the past few years. With Sri Lanka’s strategic positioning in the Indian Ocean as an island in close proximity to the international maritime lanes, the boat building industry holds the potential of becoming a thriving industry. Hence, there’s much untapped potential in Sri Lanka’s boat building industry. However, local boat builders have carried out several boat building operations to serve several foreign clients and the success of these operations were publicized in the media as well. With Sri Lanka on a growth path to become a business hub in the South Asian region, the country’s boating industry presents new and lucrative business/investment opportunities to the discerning foreign business/investor exploring opportunities in the South Asian region. Foreign businesses could also look at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses engaged in the industry and expand operations from there.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20240312/Z_7 |