Alliance to promote Asean marine tourism

Jacqueline Woo My Paper 19 Apr 13;

SINGAPORE - Singapore is a focal point for luxury yachting in the region, and has been referred to as the "Monaco of the East".

But a group of marinas has banded together as the Aseanarean Bluewater Alliance to promote cruising across Asean waters, in a bid to change that perception.

"I got tired of it, and I thought we should have our own brand name," said corporate consultant Francis Lee, 67, who co-founded the alliance - comprising 12 marinas - last September.

"The name Aseanarean suggests that we are one contiguous region, and that we should promote the region as a whole."

With the alliance, Mr Lee - who is also president of Raffles Marina - hopes to encourage liberalisation of marine tourism within the region, to give boaters easier access and "make regulations more user friendly".

There are also hopes that the alliance will eventually be expanded to include marinas in all 10 ASEAN countries.

It currently involves marinas from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, with talks of adding a 13th marina in the works. Raffles Marina, in Tuas, is the only Singapore member of the alliance.

Mr Lee was speaking yesterday on the sidelines of Boat Asia 2013, an annual boating and luxury lifestyle show held at Marina at Keppel Bay. The show, which runs till Sunday, will see more than 30 yachts exhibited both on and off the water.

A superyacht which made waves yesterday was the Tango 5, the latest ocean-going vessel by Horizon Yachts. It was designed with an ocean adventure in mind, with five staterooms, an extended cockpit for fishing, and a customised dive area.

The event also saw the public debut of an Aseanarean Expedition Series book entitled Marine Parks Of Indonesia.

The 368-page not-for-profit coffee-table book explores marine tourism and conservation efforts in Indonesia, and was co-authored by Dr Chou Loke Ming, Ms Patricia Seward and Mr Lee.

It is on sale at Raffles Marina and the Nature Society of Singapore, and will be available at other locations in the future as well.