Yas Marina is planning to add more berths to cope with demand for entertainment at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Yas is preparing to add between seven and 30 berths to the existing 175 by October, said Cedric Le Rest, the general manager of Yas Marina.
It comes as tourism chiefs seek to develop the city's marine offerings, which include Emirates Palace Marina, Al Bateen Marina and Al Bandar Marina.
"Our main focus will be gearing up Abu Dhabi to host the Volvo Ocean Race from mid-December 2014 to January 3, 2015, and working with both the UAE and international travel and tourism industry to maximise the New Year 2015 holiday," said Mohammed Al Dhaheri, the quality performance manager for strategy at the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA).
Five-year-old Yas Marina, which has been operated and managed by the British company Camper and Nicholsons Marinas since 2011, has improved its occupancy levels over the past two years.
It now has about 100 boats moored there up from 19 in 2011. The aim is to increase occupancy from 69 per cent in the first quarter of the year to reach full occupancy next year.
The marina, which can host boats of between 8 metres and 150 metres, receives almost 90 per cent of its business from domestic users.
"The UAE is still not considered a winter destination and for super yachts," Mr Le Rest said. "It is still seen as a detour on the way to say the Seychelles." Super yachts, whether powered by sail or an engine, are more than 24 metres in length.
On Wednesday, the marina had 75 boats, including a former English mine sweeper, a 72-metre super yacht as well as dhows.
But Mr Le Rest said that with the new focus on the Volvo Ocean Race, things are set to change.
Abu Dhabi hosted the global race last January and generated 32,000 room nights from 124,000 visitors. The next hosted edition is expected to generate US$61 million, 30 per cent more than in 2012, and 36,000 room nights, according to TCA Abu Dhabi.
Among Yas Marina's efforts to boost its visibility and image, the facility is focusing on community engagement, customer services and berth rates that Mr Le Rest says are competitive within the UAE.
While sailing permits in the UAE waters are given for 21 days initially, they can be extended up to six months, and Mr Le Rest says Yas Marina has done that for some boats.
It is also positioning itself as a casual destination, a change from when it opened in 2009.
"Then people thought we were exclusive and they were right, the rates were high," he said. "Now the challenge is to change this perception: people can enjoy a nice meal in shorts and watch the sun go down." Among its efforts to achieve that, the facility is adding to the two restaurants already there with five more by October.
The yearly rates have stayed stable for the past two years, while the F1 track view rates for the week of the race have gone up by 10 to 15 per cent.
The rates for track-view berths start at Dh11,435 for 10 metre boats during the week of the F1 race, and annual rates start at Dh16,455 for 8 metre boats.
As TCA highlights the capital's marine offerings, the interest is also growing.
"Since the 2012 staging [of Volvo Ocean Race], four city sailing centres have applied for Royal Yacht Association accreditation, the industry benchmark for training, which lends significant credibility to our watersports offering," Mr Al Dhaheri said.
ssahoo@thenational.ae
THE SPECS
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Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch
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On sale: now
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
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Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
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- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
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Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
Blonde
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
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RESULTS
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Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
