The water sports market has remained stable in 2019.
In spite of increasing uncertainty due to maritime trade disputes and protectionism, the EU Commission is continuing to forecast GDP growth of 1.2% in the eurozone, while the forecast for 2020 has been reduced slightly to 1.4%, because of the slower growth anticipated during the remaining months of this year (spring forecast: 1.5%).
@heesen yacths
The GDP forecast for the EU as a whole is still 1.4% in 2019 and 1.6% in 2020. The European Commission believes that domestic demand, particularly private household consumption, will continue to stimulate boat market growth in Europe.
Not all the member states are benefitting from this positive development to the same extent, however. The country that has been the driving force behind economic development in recent years – Germany – has, in particular, lost considerable momentum. The German government is expecting GDP growth of 0.5% in 2019 and 1.5% in 2020. Economic research institutes are substantially more cautious and are forecasting growth of 1% in the coming year.
The maritime industry in Europe has benefitted from this growth phase that has lasted many years. Following lengthy hard times, the market leaders among the shipyards have been operating profitably again for some time now and are investing heavily in new models. The good situation in which the international maritime industry finds itself at the moment is reflected at the world’s leading water sports trade fair boot Düsseldorf too: boot is becoming even more international and is continuing to grow.
@boot.com/
Boats and yachts are getting bigger and bigger
There continues to be a trend towards larger motor and sailing yachts. In the category of boats that are more than 12 metres long, 91% of the sailboat dealers and 90% of the motorboat dealers report that business has remained consistently good. Finance and yacht insurance companies confirm this too. The amounts financed and insured are increasing, whereas the number of contracts themselves is tending to decrease.
There continues to be strong demand for catamarans as well. Delivery periods of a year or more are not unusual any more. For a long time now, catamarans have not been based exclusively in the Mediterranean or Caribbean any more; they can be found in the Baltic Sea as well to an increasing extent. There is still a lack of appropriate infrastructure here, however. Port operators will need to respond to this in the coming years.
There is one exception to the good overall demand in the boat market, however: recreational boats up to 7.5 metres long. Almost 1/3 of the companies report that sales have decreased in this area. The market leader of recent years, of all companies, has not been left completely unscathed. It is only possible to speculate about the reasons for this. One reason might be that the market is somewhat saturated in the meantime. Smaller, trailerable boats have benefitted to a particularly large extent from the rule introduced in 2012 that no licence is required for 15-horsepower boats and have attracted numerous newcomers to recreational boating. It is apparent that this special factor is having less impact in the meantime. By comparison with the same period in the previous year, sales of outboard motors for which no licence is required dropped by about 6% in the first 9 months of 2019. The economic expectations of boat motor dealers reflect this. 1/3 of the dealers report that sales have been lower than in the same period the previous year.
Boat exports: continued success for German yacht manufacturers
German boat manufacturers are still operating successfully on the international market. In the 1st half of 2019, a total of 4,961 boats and yachts worth EUR 166.3 million were exported. By value, this represents growth of 4.6% over the same period the previous year. The number sold was, however, down 13.3%.
The export figures are impressive confirmation of the trend towards larger yachts. While the number of sailing yachts more than 12 m long that were exported increased by 11.5% and the number of motor yachts exported in the same segment was up 23.5%, exports of sailboats and motorboats less than 12 m long that were exported decreased considerably. The average value of exported boats increased by about 20% in the first half of 2019 over the same period the previous year, from EUR 27,800 to EUR 33,500.
Demand for pre-owned boats remains strong
The prices of pre-owned boats have dropped substantially in recent years. About 20,000 boats and yachts come onto the market every year. This provides newcomers in particular with good opportunities to start experiencing recreational boating with a restricted budget.
Repair, equipment and upkeep
Repair, equipment and upkeep are important areas of operation for companies in the industry. More and more boat owners are commissioning professionals to provide the services they need for their boats; they want to focus entirely on boating itself and spend as little as possible of their often limited spare time working on their boats.
They do not economise on new equipment either. Comfort and safety on board are given high priority. Modern heating, cooling and cooking technology is just as important as state-of-the-art navigation, information and communication technology. In a nutshell: life on board is required to be as similar as possible to home life. Both boat manufacturers and port operators need to make sure they satisfy these requirements. More and more boating enthusiasts are unwilling to accept digital wildernesses on board or in harbours.
Boat owners spend a great deal of money on the services they require for their yacht and for the equipment they need on board. The roughly 460,000 boat owners invest some EUR 700 million on their yachts every year.
Yacht chartering market is continuing to grow
The chartering market is also benefitting from the general social trend towards “using rather than owning”. Many people no longer want to commit themselves to spending all their leisure time on one specific hobby; they prefer to enjoy a variety of different leisure activities alongside each other.
The boat chartering market is responding to this trend by offering additional options that can be booked flexibly alongside a motor or sailing yacht. Why choose either boating or diving, if it is possible to do both during a holiday? The same applies to mountain bike tours in the course of a day in port. Greater flexibility in holiday planning is the motto: families and friends accompanying them appreciate this and boating holidays are upgraded as a result, while yacht chartering companies have the additional advantage of being able to boost their sales into the bargain.
The situation in the charter field is mixed: Croatia and the Balearic Islands have become less attractive because of their high price level. Although Greece and Turkey are reporting substantial growth, it is a long way away from its former level.
It is extremely uncertain whether the positive trend in Turkey will be continuing. From 2020 onwards, the Turkish Ministry of Tourism plans to force chartering companies to operate their fleets under the Turkish flag. This in turn means that yachts will be subject to Turkish import sales tax and that a Turkish majority owner must be on board. It is doubtful whether the many private owners (Germans, for example), who have invested in ships run by chartering companies will agree to this. It does not, at any rate, seem out of the question that the fleets may be relocated to Greece, for instance.
boot Dusseldorf; @boot.com
Recreational diving
The recreational diving market is growing. Never before have so many different companies decided to take part in the world’s largest recreational diving trade fair in the context of boot Düsseldorf. Now that the political situation in Egypt has calmed down, the travel and instruction markets are, however, the primary areas that are reporting growth. Egypt is by far the most important recreational diving destination for the European market.
The recreational diving industry itself is expecting sales to decrease slightly in 2019. The reason for this is the Asian market, which is declining considerably and is making life difficult for manufacturers.
2020 boot Düsseldorf
The Düsseldorf International Boat Show, more commonly known as boot Düsseldorf or just boot is one of the world’s premier boat shows. boot Düsseldorf 2020 runs Sat, Jan 18, 2020 – Sun, Jan 26, 2020 at Messe Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
