At this year’s Superyacht Forum, Farouk Nefzi, The Head of Marketing at Feadship, moderated the workshop session titled ‘How do we change the perception of the superyacht industry?’. The solution being proposed by Nefzi is to create a ‘World Yachting Day’ in a bid to help stimulate positive engagement between the general public and stakeholders of yachting. The name ‘World Yachting Day’ might sound a bit cringy, but the intention is pure – to showcase the breadth of the industry beyond the end product and general façade. Through the powers of social media, stakeholders can invite the public into their shipyards or offices in an open house-style format so that people can witness what it actually takes to build and maintain a superyacht with their own eyes.

The proposition divided the room, and while some applauded Nefzi for coming up with an actual solution that could feasibly be implemented, others suggested that it was akin to putting lipstick on a pig. The superyacht industry’s perception problem can not be completely transformed solely through the use of PR and Marketing campaigns, even though it does have a large part to play. As a crude example, my opinion of Coca-Cola does not change even if they do release another iconic Christmas advert and sponsor COP27, in my mind, they are still a giant multinational…