The Monaco Yacht Show has built a reputation over the years as the place for the wealthy to view potential purchases, and this year some 22,000 visitors attended, with over 500 exhibitors from the yachting world.

The MYS considers itself to be representative of the luxury yachting sector; spotted at this year's event were such dignitaries as the British Royal, Prince Michael of Kent.

The show also features shipyards, brokers, designers, equipment manufacturers and luxury goods firms.

According to Monaco Yacht Show Organizer, Luc Pettavino, the Monaco Yacht Show derives its success from: "The decision to concentrate on an extremely specific niche - the very top-of-the-range; quality relations with exhibitors and visitors from all over the world; the ability to understand the cultures and languages of several different countries, making every individual feel at home here."

The MYS also benefits the Monaco economy at large by acting as a shop window for its real estate industry as potential yacht buyers peruse the principality's range of exclusive houses and apartments.

"If someone is visiting Monaco for the yacht show and has several million euros available, it's a pretty safe assumption that those buyers will have a few million for a property too, and a luxury yacht and Monaco Real Estate appeal to the same type of buyer", observed Roger Munns, Managing Director of Tribune Properties.

Typical of Monaco Real Estate prices is a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment in Seaside Plaza, close to where the yacht show is located, at EUR3.7 million.

In fact, Tribune Properties claims that the yacht show is more beneficial to Monaco in terms of income than the world-famous Grand Prix, held annually in May and traditionally Monaco's flagship event.

The yacht show is also a boon for Monaco's hotel sector, as wealthy attendees pay premium rates for the best rooms.

However, the MYS is not just an extravagant show of wealth, and this year's show has given Prince Albert of Monaco the chance to show his green credentials by providing funds to pay for 55 wind turbines in New Zealand - enough to generate power for 45,000 homes - making the event 'carbon neutral'.

Money from the event will also go towards Coal Methane Capture in the USA, and the planting of a heath in Western Brittany with chestnuts, oaks and atlantic pines to protect water catchments and provide a recreation area.