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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Market overview and definition
Boating is becoming increasingly popular, with nearly four million pleasure boaters and almost 11 million water sports enthusiasts.
It was during the 19ᵉ century that this practice developed with the deployment of railway lines that enabled the French to get to the coasts more easily. Then in the 20ᵉ century, the practice of pleasure boating intensified thanks to the rise of the motorboat and the democratization of water sports making these activities accessible to a larger public.
This growth in leisure activities accelerated the development of boat rental.
Pleasure boats rented by private individuals can be divided into two different types: motorboats and sailing boats , as well as the increasingly popular catamarans.
The rental business is based on three different business models:
- Rental from professionals to private individuals
- management-rental via specialized agencies
- private hire via online platforms
The global rental market has been experiencing relative growth in recent years, with an estimated CAGR of almost 5% between 2019 and 2027.
The market is relatively concentrated aroundlarge European players. Similarly, boating and yachting activities are logically concentrated in a few specific geographical areas, such as the PACA region, the Atlantic coast and Corsica.
The yacht charter market is booming, and boating is gradually becoming more democratic, even if it still seems inaccessible to a large proportion of the French population. Industry players are trying to encourage this trend, with marketing campaigns promoting the affordability of this leisure activity, and offering new services such as seminars and team-building activities at sea.
Above allhe traditional pleasure boating offer is modernizing and attracting new players, facilitating access to boating for a greater number of people. This is reflected in the development of online rental platforms that enable private individuals to rent boats for relatively short periods.However, the latter still face competition from the traditional players, the rental management agencies.
1.2 Yacht charter, a growing global market
Below is an analysis of the global yacht charter market, showing that yacht charter worldwide is growing steadily at a CAGR of *%.
Sales in the global yacht charter market World, ****-****, in billions of dollars CAGR: +* Source: ****
Similarly, we can see below the different geographical areas most involved in this ...
1.3 France, a major global player
Today, France is a world leader in the pleasure boat market , thanks to the expertise of its companies and the number of shipyards in the country.
Indeed, France boasts emblematic brands that excel in the production of sailboats, catamarans and yachts such as Beneteau, Jeanneau and Lagoon.
Since ****, the number ofnew ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Strong demand for water sports activities
There are almost * million regular boaters and nearly ** million water sports enthusiasts.
Since the Covid, boat rentals and sales have been on the rise, attracting more and more consumers.
There are several ways to enjoy pleasure boating: owning one or renting one.
According to an OpinionWay survey, nearly **% of French people ...
2.2 Persona of the charterer
Now let's take a look at the persona of French boat renters.
According to the data, the proportion of French people who have already rented a boat represents around **% of the population. This figure demonstrates a growing interest in pleasure boating, as discussed in the paragraph below.
Distribution of French people ...
2.3 Consumption habits of yacht charterers
Temporality
Yacht charter is a highly seasonal business, with a marked peak in the summer months, particularly from June to September, when weather conditions are ideal for sailing and vacationing. This seasonality is influenced by school vacations and vacation periods, which encourage families, groups of friends and couples to enjoy outdoor ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Boat rental value chain and typology
Boat rental
There are three main types of boat rental in France:
Bareboat charter: some companies offer bareboat charter for periods ranging from one day to several weeks... Skippered or crewed charters: for inexperienced yachtsmen, some charter companies offer boat charters with professional crews... Long-term charter: offered by charter companies associated ...
3.2 Different boat rental business models
let's take a look at the boat rental sector in terms of the number of employees and the number of companies:
Here is the list of activities covered by APE code ****Z - Rental and leasing of leisure and sporting goods:
rental of pleasure boats, canoes and sailboats rental of bicycles rental ...
3.3 A geographically concentrated market
Leading companies: a concentrated market
According to a report by Ecorys, the Mediterranean region accounts for **% of the global yacht charter market.
Almost **% of sales in Europe are generated by a handful of "giants" such as Sunsail, Le Boat and Footloose (***), as well as Dream Yacht Charter and Kiriakoulis. The rest ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 Boat types
Categories of pleasure boats
Source: ****
Let's take a closer look at each type of boat:
Catamarans: Sailboats with two hulls and one to three sails. Dinghies: Sailboats fitted with a centerboard (***). Keelboats: Sailboats fitted with a ballasted, immovable keel. Sailing yachts: propelled by the wind, but fitted with engines as an ...
4.2 Pricing the boat offer
The price of a boat rental depends on a multitude of factors: the type of boat, the time of year, the location and the number of days spent on board. Below, we try to give you a better idea of what boats are available and how much they cost.
Below, we ...
4.3. Offer typology
There are several different trends in boat rentals:
Solar boats
Solar-powered boat rentals are gaining in popularity, offering a quiet, environmentally-friendly alternative to motorboats. These boats, often unlicensed, use photovoltaic panels for clean electric propulsion, ideal for noise-free, pollution-free cruising. The Côte d'Azur is a prime location for this activity, ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Boats for rent
Rental conditions
The Service Public.fr website offers a list of formalities to be observed to guard against unforeseen circumstances and unpleasant surprises. Although it is not compulsory, it is recommended that a rental contract be drawn up between the owner and the renter, specifying the deposit, the rental price, cancellation ...
5.2 Regulations for Skippered Rentals
The different rental contracts
With the proliferation of collaborative rental platforms, Maritime Affairs has stepped up controls at sea. So it's important to know the legal framework for each skippered yacht charter. The charter contract determines who has commercial and nautical control of the vessel. One side is the lessor (***).
There ...
5.3 Boating license regulations
A boating license is required to drive a pleasure boat on the sea or inland waters (***).
On rivers and canals, the operation of sailing boats powered by an engine in excess of *.* kilowatts is subject to possession of a license valid for inland waters and corresponding to the length of the ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Segmentation
- Travelopia, Sunsail, Le Boat, The Moorings
- Moorings France (Moorings Group)
- Filovent
- Dream Yacht Charter (Beneteau Groupe)
- Bénéteau Rent (Groupe Beneteau)
- Lagoon Catamaran (Construction Navale Bordeaux)
- Globe Sailor
- Quo Vadis Plaisance
- Les Canalous
- Le Boat (Travelopia)
- Nautal
- SamBoat.fr
- Locaboat Holidays - Nicols Yacht
- Click & Boat
- Nauticoncept
- Boataround
- Voile et Vent
- Wiziboat
- Océans Evasion (Click & Boat)
- GlobeSailor
- Nicols Yacht
- Catlante Catamarans
List of charts presented in this market study
- Value of the pleasure boat production market
- Boat rental market sales
- Yacht charter market sales trend
- Pleasure boat registrations in France
- Yacht building in France
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Latest news
Locaboat and Nomade Aventure combine river tourism with cycling and marc - 26/08/2024
- - Number of destinations offered for the first season: 10
- - Number of countries covered: 5 (France, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Ireland)
- -Turnkey tours combining boat and bike
- - Partners: Locaboat and Nomade Aventure (Voyageurs du Monde group)
- - Locaboat :
- Number two in France
- - Number of rental weeks marketed in France in 2023: 6,375 weeks
- - Number of passengers represented by these rentals in 2023: Approx. 35,000, of whom 30% French
- - Number of Locaboat Group employees in France: 140
- - Locaboat Group sales last year: Approx. 27 million euros
- - Acquisition of the Nicols brand in 2022, also a member of the Locaboat Group
Beneteau to build 400 river boats for Le Boat - 24/07/2024
- - Brirannique Le Boat, the leader in river tourism
- - Construction of 400 boats, including 100 within three years by Beneteau.
- - Investment 110 million euros
- - 2023 sales for Beneteau's boat division: 1.47 billion euros
- - Total number of non-licensed boats operated by Le Boat: 950
- - Total number of destinations developed by Le Boat: 18 in Europe and Canada.
- - Number of Le Boat employees: 350
- - Number of boats operated by Le Boat on the Canal du Midi: 250
- - Le Boat's main booking markets: Southern Europe, UK and Ireland.
Wiziboat approaches the Vendée coast - 27/05/2024
- - Wiziboat creation date: 2017
- - Number of permanent employees: 4
- - Number of freelancers: 12
- - Number of bases in 2023: 32
- - Number of boats available: 91
- - Growth of subscriber community: from 700 in 2021 to nearly 1,000 in 2023
- - Sales before partnership with Beneteau: 800,000 euros
- - Sales forecast for the end of 2024: between 1.3 and 1.4 million euros
Catlante brings a Caribbean fragrance to Marseille - 23/05/2024
- - Company founded: 2003. - Sales: 12 million euros.
- - Concept: Cabin cruises, based on a floating guesthouse model.
- - Six cabins per catamaran, for a maximum of twelve passengers.
- - 6,000 customers.
- - 70% of catamarans manufactured worldwide come from French shipyards.
Nicols goes green with its charter fleet - 15/04/2024
- Nicols is converting the 27 boats at its Alsace nautical base to HVO, a biodegradable fuel.
- - The switch to HVO is expected to reduce CO2, nitrogen oxide and fine particle emissions by up to 92%.
- - Diesel consumption by Nicols' speedboats accounts for around 25% of the company's total CO2 emissions.
- - The company operates 25 bases in Europe, located in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, Portugal and Ireland.
- - Nicols has announced business growth of 15% for 2023 compared with the reference year 2019, compared with 12% in 2022.
- - The company employs 56 people.
- - After its takeover by Locaboat at the end of 2022, the Nicols-Locaboat group will post cumulative sales of 27 million euros for 120 employees.
10 years of SamBoat, the "nautical Airbnb - 04/04/2024
- Number of occasional sailors in France: 13 million
- Number of boats registered on French coasts: Over one million
- Number of boats registered by SamBoat**: Over 50,000
- Countries where SamBoat is present: 76 countries
- Number of sailors per year since 2022: One million
- Percentage of French customers with SamBoat: Approx. 45
- Price reduction compared with traditional charter companies: Up to 40%
- Commission taken by SamBoat on transactions: Approx. 18
- Total funds raised: 2.5 million euros
- Year purchased by Dream Yacht Charter: 2018
- Year of profitability: 2020
- Equity investment by Beneteau: July 2021
- Integration of five professional charter companies in 2023
- Number of SamBoat offices worldwide: Five offices
- Number of people in the SamBoat team: Sixty
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