The Greek yacht market grew more than any other tourism sector in the country during the 2021 pandemic.
However, the potential for further growth in the yacht market is much greater, provided that a strategic plan for the development of tourist port facilities is implemented, as outlined in new study published today by diaNEOsis –an independent, private, non-profit research organisation based in Athens.
The study analyses the current state of the yacht market in Greece, how many marinas and other tourist port facilities are operating, their institutional framework, whether other countries are designing more effective policies on this issue, how Greece could do even better and, of course, what would be the benefit in this case.
The strategic plan proposed by the diaNEOsis research concerns the improvement of infrastructure and network development, the reform of the concession bidding process, the adaptation of concession fees and the adoption of new financial instruments, the administration and management of tourist ports and digitalisation. Under the best case scenario, with the construction of 30% of the existing allocated and undeveloped berths, 5,164 new berths will be created between 2022 and 2031, contributing €2.9 billion.
From the year 2031 onwards, the new berths will contribute directly and indirectly €602.7 million and 8,422 jobs per year.
What are the main obstacles to the development of tourist ports?
The study identifies the main obstacles to the development of tourist ports as follows:
-The absence of central supervision of the port network and the implementation of the relevant legislation.
-The general absence of an integrated strategic planning.
-The siting of tourist ports was not based on a holistic planning but mainly on individual decisions of local authorities.
-The tendering procedures remain problematic. For example, the tender for the concession of Alimos Marina started in 2013 and ended in 2020.
Tourist ports
Tourist ports include, as defined in the legislation, marinas, shelters and anchorages where recreational vessels anchor. There are currently around 11.000 tourist ports in Europe, with around 1.1 million berths. To date, 168 tourist ports have been located in our country, which, according to the planning, include 25,712 berths. However, of the 168 tourist ports, only 37 are in operation, providing in fact 8,499 berths. Of the 62 designated marinas, only 23 are operational; of the 12 designated hotel ports, 9 are operational; of the 72 designated shelters, only 5 are operational, and of the 22 designated anchorages, none are operational.
The remaining ports are either unfinished, have not been built at all, or have been built but have not been handed over to management and operating bodies. All things considered, Greece ranks last among 16 countries in the list of berths per kilometre of coastline. Although the legislation states that tourist ports are the responsibility of the Ministry of Tourism, in practice the various competences concerning them are fragmented between different decision-making centres.
The landscape of the yacht market in Greece
The landscape of the yacht market in Greece is as follows:
-There are 170,000 yachts in Greece (2019), of which 6,109 are professional yachts.
-The average annual growth rate of the sector in the period 2014-2018 was 3.4%.
-The average annual revenue in 2018 was €433.4 million.
-80% of the demand for yachts comes from foreign tourists.
-There are 83 yacht and sports boat manufacturing companies in the country (compared to 45 in 2008).
Greece has one of the largest fleets of super yachts in the world. According to a 2018 survey, of the nearly 4,795 such vessels in the world, 407 belong to American citizens, followed by Russians (168) and in third place by Greeks (107).
The global yacht market
It should be noted that the global yacht market is growing rapidly and more specifically:
-In 2020, it generated $41 billion in global market revenue (up from nearly $40 billion in 2019).
-310,000 yachts of all types and sizes were sold in 2020 (up 12% from 2019).
-The total number of yachts worldwide is 30 million. 90% of these are small, less than 8 metres long.
-6 million boats are estimated to exist in Europe.
-48 million Europeans regularly participate in yacht-related activities.
