New online boat exchange club launched at Dubai show
By IBI Magazine
Boating Vacation Club (BVC) International has officially launched an online global boat exchange at the Dubai International Boat Show. The system, which facilitates the exchange of boats between owners in different locations, is being billed as an alternative to yacht charter. It works like home exchange programmes, in which owners look at a central website at various offerings, and then exchange homes during holiday periods. "The BVC system is extremely flexible, so our members are not tied down to exchanging in one particular geographical area," said Alan Gulliver, head of BVC International Europe Division, in a statement. "BVC International is also simple and sophisticated. Once boat owners have signed up to the service online they can choose the dates that they wish to make their boat available for use. They then build up day by day credit when their boat is used, which can be spent on using another boat in any destination they wish, on dates that suit them via the BVC interactive world map." The company hopes to compile a database of several hundred boats in the next eight weeks. The club, said Gulliver, enables the exchange of "like-for-like" boats that fall into the same size bracket. Categories range from 0ft-9ft right up to 100ft-150ft. "The aim of BVC International is to create an online global boating community," said Gulliver. "We see it as a cost-efficient alternative to chartering and a way to get more from the often considerable investment that owners put into their boats. It's a way of opening up the world so they can enjoy the oceans and waterways worldwide and not be confined to the cruising area where they live or where their boat is moored." Membership costs for one year are A$350, with other packages available for three or five years. "All applicants to BVC International are extensively checked and verified with only fully licensed, fully insured boats and owners becoming part of the exclusive exchange network," said Gulliver.
(10 March 2010)
|
