Welcome to this edition of Yacht Business partly recorded in Jeddah where one of the preliminary rounds of the America’s Cup has just been delivered – in style. There is a lot to unpack here – from prejudiced pre-event commentary by sections of the western and social media to lessons in destination marketing and stakeholder management to direct comparisons between this event and the SailGP Dubai event. I’m going to try and cover all of these things.. BUT FIRST we have a special interview with David Graham, CEO of World sailing… The Script… Intro Welcome to this edition of Yacht Business partly recorded in Jeddah where one of the preliminary rounds of the America’s Cup has just been delivered – in style. There is a lot to unpack here – from prejudiced pre-event commentary by sections of the western and social media to lessons in destination marketing and stakeholder management to direct comparisons between this event and the SailGP Dubai event. I’m going to try and cover all of these things.. BUT FIRST we have a special interview with David Graham, CEO of World sailing… David Graham Live interview… America’s Cup Preliminary Event in Jeddah In the interests of disclosure, we were not paid to attend this event. Not one flight. Not one room night, not one kick-back. We have no sponsorship from any of the organisations mentioned. However, unlike many of the armchair pundits, we probably have a better understanding of what the reality of life in Saudi Arabia is really like. We’ve spent months on the ground around the country talking to business leaders and extra ordinary people. Pre Event Controversy Which brings us to the artificial ‘controversy’ and hypocrisy from sections of the sailing community and media in the lead-up to the event. I want you to Imagine a regime. Since coming to power, these leaders have thumbed their noses at the international community in relation to human rights. You know exactly who I’m talking about – of course it’s the current UK conservative government. Now imagine booking a trip to London to watch the Premier League or Wimbledon and being asked why you were supporting a government that is committed to pulling out of the European convention on Human Rights so they can send refugees to Rwanda. Do any of us really want to be judged by some of the words and actions of our leaders? Should the next Ashes cricket test in Australia be boycotted on ‘sustainability’ grounds because a previous Prime Minister held up a lump of coal in the parliament and proclaimed it as the future? Or maybe we should not attend the F1 in Texas on the basis of oppression of women by banning their access to abortion. I’m tempted to say, “let he who is without sin, cast the first stone..” and speaking of throwing stones, doesn’t the USA still have the death penalty? Of course, there is a lot of work to be done to change hearts and minds when it comes to the (re)building of brand Saudi in the eyes of the international community. One way to do that is to invite people to visit, to experience it for themselves. To be made to feel welcome in a genuine way. That’s easier said than done. There are thousands of tourist destinations to choose from all around the world. So how to give people a reason to visit. Sport is a tried and tested way of literally putting cities on the map. Sport as Destination Marketing Strategy In fact, Sport may be the Ultimate Destination Marketing Tool. Quick, think of a city in Saudi Arabia. Now think of an Australian city. Competition for visitors and inward investment isn’t just between countries, it’s also between regions and cities within countries. Back in the early 90s, the Australian Grand Prix was held in Adelaide. The MotoGP was raced at Eastern Creek in NSW. But Melbourne had a strategy to change all that. Bringing the F1 Grand Prix to Melbourne was controversial. More controversial than running an America’s Cup preliminary event in Jeddah. Firstly there was the cost. The right to host a Grand Prix is expensive. Money that could be spent on ‘better things.’ The race is a street circuit on public roads causing disruption to traffic and users of Albert Park for weeks before the race. Then there is the noise from the cars and helicopters and general disruption to thousands of local residents. The first race was in 1996, and nearly 30 years later, some still complain about the nuisance. But… for a few hours a year, the MELBOURNE brand is broadcast live around the world to a desirable demographic who follow Formula 1…. And with the popularity of new formats, like the Netflix documentary – Drive to Survive, the coverage reaches a wide audience. Some of that audience might say – why don’t we go to Melbourne for the Grand Prix next year or… why don’t we hold our APAC regional conference in Melbourne next year or… why don’t we relocate our APAC HQ to Melbourne? But Jeddah and Saudi Arabia has something that Melbourne doesn’t and it’s the thing that makes the strategy to host an F1 Grand Prix and an America’s Cup event so clever. The WHO’S WHO of Elite(ist) Sport. Let’s start with a geography lesson. Saudi Arabia is the 13th biggest country in the world by land mass. Smaller than Greenland, larger than Mexico. The total coastline of Saudi Arabia is 2,640 km or 1640 miles.. That’s roughly double the coastline of California The Red Sea coastline of Saudi Arabia is 1,760 kilometers (1,100 miles) which is very-roughly double the length of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race or the Fastnet Race… Here’s a fun fact – according to the Inter web net, there is only 3 nautical miles difference between the length of the Sydney Hobart race and the Fastnet race. Like many countries in the Middle East, there is a rich maritime history in a city like Jeddah. With the right conditions, a desire to compete with the rest of the world as a venue for high-profile sporting events, and the backing of key leaders Jeddah is well placed to position itself as a world-class sporting destination for a very specific kind of sports fan. If you listened to our report from the 2023 Dubai Boat Show, you will know that the goal of many of the ports in the Middle East is to tempt Superyachts to spend the Northern Hemisphere in the Red Sea rather than the Carribean. Jeddah is closer to Mykonos than St Barts, but proximity is not enough. Many superyacht owners are sports fans. They will move their yachts to be close to the action. Whether it be the Football World Cup, the Rugby World Cup, the Olympics, the Monaco Grand Prix or the America’s Cup. This elite target market could explain why the preliminary regatta was sponsored by Neom. In addition to the mind-boggling LINE city project, Neom’s developments include SINDALAH, a purpose built Superyacht Island and Yachting Hub. This isn’t just buying a Premier League team. This is a long-term strategy which includes building infrastructure and facilities, creating jobs and attracting inbound investment. The Experience & Journey And so to the event.. The America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta in Jeddah, presented by Neom… Where does the experience begin? Well… that depends on who you are. I’m going to digress a little bit more here before I get into our thoughts about the event, because it’s important to understand that experience is a relative concept. A 10 year old Saudi girl who lives in Jeddah is going to have a different experience to a VIP Guest, watching from a Superyact or a jaded sailing pundit, albeit with a good understanding of the region. To be fair, many events get this wrong. EIther there is no differentiation between the buyer personas and stakeholders, or only one group are focussed on – for example, VIP guests. Fan Journey 1 – Getting to Jeddah As a foreign fan considering visiting Saudi Arabia, probably for the first time, the journey was very much a ‘sort it out yourself’ kind of affair. Perhaps it is not the job of the organisers to make it easier for people to attend the event, but simply linking out to the Visit Saudi website is not really sufficient. I would imagine that most fans of New Zealand, USA, UK, Italy, France and Switzerland don’t know that passport holders of those countries can get a tourist visa for Saudi Arabia on arrival and that there are low-cost airlines that service Jeddah and there are both 5 star and 3 star hotel options throughout the city. Most of the comms leading up to the event was not – SEE YOU THERE, but ‘THIS IS HOW YOU WATCH ON YOUTUBE IN YOUR TIMEZONE’ It would be very hard to work out what the foreign visitor impact of the event was. There were several other large events happening on the same weekend, including the ATP Next Generation Tennis finals… I would imagine that when you fly into Barcelona in 2024, there will be signage and promotion for the America’s Cup at the Airport. There might be already. But flying in from Riyadh, there was nothing to advertise the event’s happening. Even the Red Sea Film Festival had decals on the floor of the airport, welcoming visitors. I did spot a small, AC branded booth in arrivals, which presumably was used a few days earlier to welcome teams and their entourage. Again, for context, I arrived on Friday morning – 1 day into the 3 day event… A note on scheduling. This is a tough one for events coming to the Middle East. The working week in Saudi is Sunday to Thursday. Foreign fans would need to take days off to attend the Thursday and Friday racing. International sporting audiences are used to the final day or race being on Sunday. So again, which
