The pleasure boat market - Italy

1.2 Global Market Analysis

As anticipated in the introduction to the market study, the global market for pleasure boats was valued at **.* billion USD in ****, and it is expected to reach **.** billion USD by ****, growing at a CAGR (***) of *.*%. In particular, factors as a growing tourism industry and increasing disposable income levels of people are peculiar to the growth of the market, and can be considered the main drivers to boost a proper expansion. The graph below shows the expected growth of the market under analysis, for the period from **** to ****.

Pleasure Boats Market - Growth World, ****-****, in Billion USD. Source: ****

Outboard boats are expected to grow due to many advantages such as low maintenance costs, better deck area, accessibility of engines and variable power of the engines that can be installed on the boats. Activities such as fishing, cruising and water sports can be enjoyed using outboard/deck boats. Demand for outboard boats is greater in markets such as North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, etc. In ****, the world nautical sector represented nearly ***,*** companies and * million direct jobs for *** million practitioners. The recreational boating segment is described as very dynamic, with nearly ** million boats in operation [***].

1.3 The Italian Market

According to Boat International, the global authority in superyachting, Italy maintains its leading position in the production and sale of pleasure boats, followed by the Netherlands and Turkey. Despite the negative impact played by the global emergency in ****, the high quality of Italian products and the notoriety that the country has globally gained through the years allowed it to safeguard its primacy in the sector. Indeed, it has been estimated that around **% of the players in the market under analysis managed to increase their turnover even in ****, while **% of them suffered a contraction in revenues due to the critical situation going on. However, at the end of **** the Italian market of pleasure boats was estimated at *.* billion Euros, close to the value of the preceding year [***].

In particular, Italy is specialized in the production of units of over ** meters, for which it has been maintaining the primacy in the world since ****. The Italian industry represents a share of **.*% of the global market for pleasure boats, and in **** it produced *** of the total of *** yachts ordered worldwide. To better understand the role of the Italian industry in the sector under consideration, it is worth mentioning that Turkey and the Netherlands, the following ...

1.4 Import and Export Analysis

In order to evaluate the dimension of importations and exportations of pleasure boats, it is necessary to consider the data related to the code **.** - Yacht and other vessels. In particular, dealing with exportations, they reached a total amount of $*.** billion in ****, the main destination countries being United States, Cayman Islands, Malta, and France.

Pleasure Boats - Exportations Italy, ****, in %. Source: ****

Therefore, from the graph above, it can be inferred that exportations are pretty concentrated in the main four destinations. On the other hand, dealing with importations, the total value amounts to $*** million, a bit more than a tenth of the total amount of exportations. Consequently, the market under analysis is characterized by a trade surplus.

  Pleasure Boats - Importations Italy, ****, in %. Source: UNComtrade   Even in the case of importations, they are pretty concentrated - they mainly come from the first three countries of the list.

1.5 Covid-19 Impact

To analyse the impact that Covid-** exerted on the pleasure boat market in Italy, we will rely on a survey conducted by Smart&Green, the research and training centre for the territorial valorization of natural, anthropic and technological resources operating at the Department of Political Science of the University of Genoa. In examining the recreational boating situation and the impact of Covid, the survey first outlines the profile of the recreational boater. According to the findings, the predominant age group is ** to ** years old (***).

Analysing some specific data on pleasure boating and Covid, it was found that in **** there were fewer daily trips than in **** (***) [***].

Another survey conducted by GlobeSailor has revealed that, despite widespread feelings of mistrust, purchasing power of boaters has not been impacted, or at least has held up well to the impact of the crisis. On a scale of * to **, where ** indicates the maximum degree of impact, only *.*% were hit hard from an economic standpoint. Instead, in the vast majority of cases, the crisis had little or no impact on their purchasing power. Therefore, the budget allocated to vacations has been reduced very little. In fact, **% state that the health crisis has not had much influence on ...

2.1 Demand Overview

Dealing with the demand of pleasure boats, it is worth highlighting the fact that, when purchasing a pleasure boat, the vast majority of acquirers go for second-hand units. The graph below shows the ratio between new boats and used ones. 

Pleasure Boats - New vs Second-Hand Italy, ****, in %. Source: ****

The figures represented are related to the average of new units and second-hand ones related to both ships and boats. In truth, there is a slight difference between these two categories:

As for boats, the percentage of new units amounts to **.*%, the one of second-hand ones being **.*%; On the other hand, considering ships, the percentage of new units sold is **.*%, while that of second-hand ones is **.*%.

The main difference between these two categories is the fact that, in the case of boats, the percentage of those who keep them in the water for only a few months grows slightly (***) [***].

2.2 Demand Drivers

One of the main drivers for the demand of pleasure boats is the ownership of a nautical licence. As defined in the latest legislative provisions, the nautical licence gives the owner the qualification to command, which is necessary to sail sailing or motor boats which are more powerful or longer than specific standardized dimensions. In order to get the licence, the candidate has to sustain a proper examination before being admitted to sail a unit. The following table introduces the different categories of nautical licences available in Italy.

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Another relevant driver in the Italian demand for pleasure boats is the fact that Italy is one of the most chosen destinations for sailors coming from all over the world. Indeed, the Italian coast ranks third in the list of foreigners' preferences for their holidays, and most travellers come from Great Britain, Americas and also Australia. Eventually, it is also worth highlighting that the versatility of a boating holiday allows carving out moments ashore to discover cultural places. This is the reason why, in Italy, Sicily is chosen by **% of travellers and Sardinia by **% [***].

2.3 Geographical Distribution of Demand

In Italy, there are **,*** boats registered at the peripheral maritime offices or at the civil motorization. The region with the most registered boats is Liguria, with **,*** (***). Lombardy, though not overlooking the sea, has *.**% of the boats, while Abruzzo and Molise combined do not even reach a thousand. The first Adriatic region is Veneto, with *,***.

Instead, dealing with the typology of boats, with respect of a total figure of **,*** boats, the vast majority of them, **,***, are between **.** and ** metres long. There are **,*** boats up to ** meters long, while there are *** boats over ** meters. It must be said that for boats under ** meters there is no longer a registration requirement. The graph below shows the proportion among the categories abovementioned [***].

Pleasure Boats - Number of Units per Category Italy, ****, in %. Source: ****

3.1 Structure and Dynamics of the Market

Introducing the structure of the market under analysis, it is necessary to consider the code ATECO **.** - Construction of pleasure and sport boats - to investigate the main trends of the market. In particular, dealing with the total number of enterprises operating in the sector, the following graph shows that the sector has experienced a positive trend in the period from **** to ****, going from a total number of companies amounting to *** in **** to a value of *** in ****. The average growth rate in terms of number of companies registered in the period has been +**.**%.

Pleasure Boats - Number of Entities Italy, ****-****, in Units. Source: ****

A similar increasing trend can also be found in the number of employees working in the sector. In fact, considering the period under analysis, the average growth rate registered in the number of employees operating in the sector has been +*.*%.

  Pleasure Boats - Number of Employees Italy, ****-****, in Average Unit per Year. Source: Istat   Eventually, in terms of legal form, the graph below shows the predominance of limited partnerships. Therefore, considering the Italian market for pleasure boats, it is possible to conclude that the sector is mainly composed by small entities specialized in the production ...

3.2 Value Chain

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3.3 Distribution Channels

Analysing the distribution of pleasure boats, it is necessary to consider two main components: on one hand, the distribution channels and, on the other hand, the physical distribution of products. In particular, the former refers to the number and types of intermediaries needed to bring products and services to the consumer market. Physical distribution, instead, regards the strictly logistical aspects of marketing, such as the integration of many different operations and the transformation of the firm's strategy into practice. In the analysis of the distribution of pleasure boats, dealers are authorized by boat producers to sale their product. In particular, they can be either direct dealers, i.e. dealers owned by the boat producers themselves, or indirect dealers, i.e. authorized dealers owned by third parties, which in turn can be subdivided into mono- or multi-brand dealers, depending on whether they sell products of one or more brands. Usually, dealers offer a series of services to their customers, such as:

Brokerage; Chartering; Maintenance; Docking; Financial services; Crew training.

From the perspective of the producer, the global market can be segmented into three different clusters:

Domestic demand; International consolidated market - the European and American markets; International emerging markets - India, China ...

3.4 Main Players

Recalling the table reported in the section *.* - The Italian Market - it is possible to calculate the market share of the most important Italian companies basing on the number of units produced in **** and the total number of orders present in the Order Book for the year (***).

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4.1 Typology of the Offer

According to the site Ecological Yachting, it is possible to list for different categories of pleasure boats, which are highlighted in the following table:

Other factors of interest can be:

Whether the boat has a motor or is a sailboat; Whether the boat is an inflatable one.

4.2 Pricing

Dealing with the price of pleasure boats, it is worth highlighting the main components in the costs that musty be sustained in order to purchase a unit of these. First and foremost, according to Edmiston, an important broker of the sector [***], the average asking price for a superyacht in the period ****-**** amounted to *.* million Euros. Naturally, the price takes into consideration a series of variables, such as the size and the sort of yacht under consideration. The price of an older superyacht and under ** meters can start from ***,*** Euros, but it can get to figures like *** million Euros for the most expensive models. The table below shows the average prices according to different dimension categories: naturally, the smaller the yacht, the lower the price.

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Moreover, when considering buying a pleasure boat, it is also necessary to consider the costs of maintenance and fuel that would be incurred. On average, the average expenditure on maintenance and other fees amounts to **% of the yacht's value per year. Instead, as for fuel, a research by Towergate Insurance estimates that an owner of a **-metre yacht pays around ***,*** Euros per year. However, the list of expenditures is not ended: it also counts the ...

5.1 Regulatory Framework

Boating for pleasure craft is governed by a set of rules dedicated to and separate from those of commercial boating. The main sources of regulation in Italy are the following:

Codice della Nautica da Diporto (***); The Regulations implementing the Nautical Code; Directive ****/**/EU [***]; The law implementing the Directive, in the current consolidated version.

In particular, dealing with the Recreational Boating Code (***), approved by DLG n. ***/****, it constitutes an organic primary norm of the complex and stratified discipline of recreational navigation, subject, in the past, of multiple fragmentary regulatory interventions. However, even in the face of this specific discipline, the dynamism of the sector had not found a suitable regulation, therefore the CND was amended by DLG n. ***/**** in which stand out:

The implementation of a Central Telematic System; The inclusion of two new commercial activities carried out with pleasure craft; The creation of a simplified *nd class navigation officer qualification, in conjunction with IMO certifications and the standards of the international STCW Convention; The regulation of the pleasure boat owner's profession and introduction of two new professional figures (***); The regulation for nautical schools, nautical instruction centres and facilities dedicated to pleasure boating; The establishment of an assistance and towing service for ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Azimut Benetti Yachts
• Sanlorenzo
• Overmarine Group
• The Italian Sea Group
• Palumbo
• Baglietto
• Cantiere delle Marche
• Feadship
• Ocean Alexander
• Lürssen