Azimut-Benetti Group announces tie-up with ART Marine for their Azimut Yachts and Atlantis line

Addressing a Press conference in Dubai today, Mr. Paolo Vitelli, President and Managing Director of Azimut-Benetti Group, said that the exclusive tie-up with Art Marine is for the distribution of the Italian company's Azimut Yachts and Atlantis luxury craft line in the GCC, Jordan and Pakistan.

He said that the decision by his company to appoint a single distributor for the entire region was strategic and in line with Azimut-Benetti Group's plans for the region, which is witnessing a boom in tourism, surging luxury boat sales and building of new marinas.

"We found that instead of appointing dealers in individual countries, tying up with a strategic partner like ART Marine, goes with our objectives in the region. ART Marine is managed by experts with many years of experience in the region and we are confident that they will continue to do extremely well in the future" he said.

The Azimut- Benetti Group has the largest production network of luxury yachts in the world. The company has been placed first for six consecutive years by the prestigious American magazine "Showboats International", which rates major mega-yacht constructors. The Group is also Europe's leading boatyard and third worldwide with a production value of Euro 481 million, as of August 31, 2004.

Speaking about the growing opportunities in the Middle East's luxury pleasure boat market, he said that this sector is witnessing a phenomenal expansion and now accounts for almost a fifth of global luxury yacht sales.

He said that the rising sales of luxury yachts has also led to a massive demand for mooring facilities, which now provides significant opportunity for investors. Regional seafront developers have begun responding by building luxury marinas across the region, he added.

"Across the Middle East and Gulf, from Lebanon to Kuwait and Dubai, Egypt to Bahrain to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, marinas are being constructed and planned, or have already been completed and there is constant increase in passion for boating and water sports in the region. I foresee significant increase in the demand for our luxury yachts in the region and we with our partners ART Marine are prepared to meet this demand," Vitelli said.