IMAGE asia Withdraws from Koh Samui Regatta

IMAGE asia has confirmed that it is not pursuing its option to continue organising the Koh Samui Regatta into 2008 and beyond. The company took on management of the 2007 event on a one-year contract with options for the future but has chosen not to exercise those options.

“It was a difficult decision,” said IMAGE asia MD, Grenville Fordham, who has been involved in regatta organisation in Thailand for several years. “From the feedback we received, Koh Samui Regatta 2007 went well for both participants and sponsors. We were especially pleased by the tremendous support from so many island businesses, particularly the commitment of the host venue, the recently renamed Centara Grand Beach Resort, Samui.”.

Fordham explained that the decision not to move forward with Koh Samui Regatta was down to internal company restructuring which, this year, saw the company transfer ownership of the Phuket Boatshow (PIMEX), launched by IMAGE asia in 2003, to Andaman Marine Consultants – the Phuket marine specialist company that consults to IMAGE asia on regatta race management.

While IMAGE asia’s core business is publishing, the company has become increasingly involved in the boating scene over the past few years.

“We’re a fairly small company and had to think hard about our focus,” said Fordham. “While our team gets a huge buzz out of organising events, we were reaching the point where our management resources were stretched. Regatta organisation in Thailand has yet to reach the point where it is profitable for the organiser and we concluded that we owed it to our shareholders to concentrate on our core business.

Fordham was eager to stress that his company is not pulling out of the marine scene completely. “We’re continuing to organise Phuket Raceweek – we now have confirmed the dates as 23-27 July 2008 – and our decision not to run Koh Samui Regatta again means we can devote resources to the growth our own regatta as one of Thailand’s top boating events,” he said.

Representatives of the Koh Samui Regatta rights holders, Marc Ribail and Peter Plant, are upbeat on the future of the Regatta and are in discussions with a number of companies and organisations that have expressed an interest in running the event.

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