Corina Pons, Joan Faus

MADRID/BARCELONA – Jack Ma, a Chinese billionaire made a visit to Spain’s Mallorca Island last month. It was his first foray abroad since a dispute with Spanish regulators in 2020.

Ma’s sun-kissed sojourn aboard his new 88-metre (299.5 ft), cruise boat Zen, which is estimated to have a value of $200 million, also highlighted a worldwide trend: The return of superyachts.

After near-paralysis during the outbreak of the pandemic, luxury boating is recovering quickly as the global multi-billion dollar industry rebounded.

Fraser Yachts brokers stated, “2021 is substantially outperforming any twelve years.”

The Superyacht Group reports that luxury vessels over 30 meters have seen a 8% increase in sales in the nine month period to 2021, compared to the same period in 2019 before the pandemic.

A superyacht costs between $10 million and $600 million, according to figures from the industry.

The Superyacht Group reported that more than 200 of them were on the water this year, compared to 165 during the same time period in 2019.

Around 330 were ordered and will be available before 2023.

Pepe Garcia is the chairman of Spanish shipyards MB92. This superyacht refit company is the most prominent in the world.

“I think that this phenomenon will continue for some years.”

Barcelona Shipyard MB92 is fully stocked with boats of up to 180m. It employs around 1000 workers to repair and paint boats in order for them to be ready for the Caribbean year-end season.

Txema Rubio, the commercial director of the company, said that as high as 10% is spent each year on maintenance or refits.

Forbes estimates that 2,755 billionaires are now in existence, 660 more then a year ago. This is clearly money laundering, even though campaigners denounce the environmental impact of private jets, yachts, and space travel.

“All You Need Is Now”

Ferretti, an Italian yacht builder, has a order book that exceeded $900 billion ($1.04 Billion) for January through September. That’s well beyond 2019’s 691 M euros.

Alberto Galassi, chief executive of Galassi said that Duran Duran’s song “All you need to be now” is beautiful. “The pandemic taught us just how fragile life can be. For those with the means to afford it, postponement is not an option.

Azimut Benetti (another Italian yacht builder) saw its order book increase to 1.2 Billion Euros by August, a significant jump from the previous year. This was driven by U.S. customers.

Marco Valle said, “The real boom was last spring.” He also stated that clients wanted larger boats.

One of the few losers in this post-lockdown era is the yachting sector. According to Cruise Lines International Association, only half of the large cruise ships were able to return to the oceans in September despite strict anti-COVID precautions.

Even with fears of contagion or additional COVID-related travel expenses, there is no denying that appetite for adventure remains strong.

Amadeus, a Spanish travel company, said that cruise demand will rise in 2022.

If you have the funds, renting a superyacht can also be an option.

Two market sources reported that a luxury charter of up to 12 people in Italy or Greece can be as low as 300,000. Spas, Michelin-level cuisine, instruction in watersports, and classes for fitness are just a few of the amenities available onboard.

According to Croatia’s national tourism board, 433,000 tourists enjoyed yacht charter holidays in Croatia this year, which is 88% more than 2020.

Many spin-offs can be found in the boom.

Refitter MB92 plans to go to the Middle East, Americas and Europe, while Marina Port Vell will construct 23 superyacht berths.

Squircle Capital, an European investment fund, holds stakes at both of these companies. It was drawn to the sector’s evolution and high margins.

Jose Caireta, the founder of Caireta and its director said that “we believe there’s a very clear trend for growth and transformation.”

($1 = 0.8678 euros)