Yacht charter market set to boom in Europe

Authors of a study tracking yacht charter sales in 20+ countries, say the report provides lucid analysis on how the growth trend will unfold.

Future Market Insights’ (FMI) headline is that local yacht charter sales are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 5.4% during the forecast period 2021-2031.

The European yacht charter market is anticipated to provide highly rewarding opportunities for yacht charter providers over the forecast period. In 2022, the market in this region holds a significant share of 31.9% in the global landscape.

Due to its numerous tourist locations and strong growth rate in the marine tourism industry, Europe is anticipated to dominate the worldwide yacht charter market. Plus, says FMI’s report, the cooperations between airline booking and online charter service providers in Europe are likely to enhance industry growth.

Other takeaways include the US being catapulted as a key market due to high spending on luxury vacations, demand in Thailand rising with its expanding tourism sector, and Indonesia and the Maldives emerging as popular yacht charter destinations.

FMI says yacht charters accounted for 30-35% share of the global boat market in 2020 and that the growing popularity of luxury marine tourism and personalised services among passengers is positively impacting the expansion of the yacht charter market.

Growth is being driven by the emergence of short-term rentals, which typically last one to three days and are not affected by seasonality. With rising demand for short-term rentals, yacht charter service providers are concentrating on regular rental rates for two-day yacht charters, which are usually 40-50 percent of the weekly fare.

The report says that yacht companies are realising the value of incorporating cutting-edge technology to deliver advanced smart yachts that offer multifunctional areas. It says that as charter yachts spend the majority of their time cruising within reach of the coast, investment is being made to make 4G LTE and 5G networks more available, offering cost-effective high-bandwidth connectivity to consumers on board.

All aspects of a luxury yacht, including navigation and safety are improving due to new technologies. The report’s authors believe that events such as corporate parties or pre-wedding shoots have driven a desire among end consumers to opt for the charters embedded with smart technologies.

The report also alludes to dealers and businesses having a one-of-a-kind opportunity to gain substantial sales and enhance their brand’s market reach during boat shows. It says yacht manufacturers are investing a lot of work into showcasing their new yachts at major boat events around the world to boost their visibility among potential buyers, and in the industry.

But, as reported in MIN in late March, while the charter season bookings look very positive this year, there does appear to be some uncertainty in the market given the negative publicity surrounding yacht seizures, which is creating issues in the market. In Croatia, for example, it was reported some charter contracts had been cancelled.

Main image is Queen Mare, offered for charter via YachtCharterFleet.