Report suggests 77% of owners intend to cruise in 2020 season

The Superyacht Agency has released statistics that suggest 77% of yacht and superyacht owners intend to go cruising during the 2020 summer season.

The group conducted a quantitative research project to ascertain how owners will be looking to use their vessels this year amid the uncertainty about what happens once countries come out of COVID-19 lockdown.

The promising statistic about owners wanting to make their way on board over the coming summer months bodes well for the superyacht industry, which is currently stuttering as a result of the virus and enforced social distancing measures.

No particular trend was identified in regards intended cruising destinations, with many respondents suggesting they would be guided by what destinations are open for business – though a large number of owners did say they would prefer to operate in the Western Mediterranean as normal.

Elsewhere, 50% of respondents explained that owners intended to cut overheads, which poses interesting dilemmas regarding the staffing of vessels when cruising. While a large number of crew from the Southern Hemisphere normally descend on yachts in the Med during the summer season, this may not be possible due to travel restrictions in 2020. It has prompted Marianne Danisses, head of yacht management at Camper & Nicholsons International, to call for owners and captains to hold off implementing cuts to crew costs until the full landscape becomes clearer in the weeks ahead.

The Superyacht Agency also found that 77% of owners did not intend to refit or upgrade their yacht this year, while 84% had no intention of selling their superyacht in 2020. Meanwhile, 16% of respondents claimed that their owner is on the market for a new superyacht, perhaps suggesting there is an appetite among some to take advantage of stressed build projects.

72% of respondents commented that they believed the industry would change after the crisis, with the most common suggestions being further protections for the charter guest within the MYBA contract, the onset of a buyers’ market and a ‘slow’ new build market, among others.

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Source: Superyacht News (Premium)