SuperyachtNews.com – Enterprise – A superyacht’s weekly spend
Presents a snapshot of data highlighting the amount that superyachts spend during an average week …
It was announced yesterday that Thailand will reopen to superyachts after a period of severe restrictions. However, it wasn’t until the beginning of the year (February 2021) that overseas flagged superyachts could actually charter in Thailand, hampering the country’s ability to grow its superyacht industry. Part of the problem Thailand and various other nations around the world are facing is that industry stakeholders are struggling to prove the value of the superyacht industry. Here we look at a snapshot of data compiled by The Superyacht Agency for a Pacific island to prove the value of visiting superyachts.
The temptation by the global tax authorities has always been to tax the owners a percentage of the value of the hull in order to import the ship and use it for commercial purposes. While this appears to be an attractive and relatively easy way of generating tax revenue, with the government’s added bonus seen as taxing the rich, in reality it has only gotten property owners, captains, and various other interested parties to the nations with draconian import regulations and choose to charter the yacht at a cheaper location. The key then was to show these governments what revenue they had lost.
Of course, the expenses of a superyacht vary from place to place, depending on the size of the ship and the time of year. It is therefore important to note that the expenditure contained herein has been determined for a small island nation and cannot simply be applied to any location. They compare the difference in weekly expenses for 30-40m super yachts and 50-60m super yachts. For a more detailed breakdown of superyacht spend across all size classes or a dataset that applies to a specific location, please contact The superyacht agency.
On average, a 30-40 m long superyacht visiting a small island nation spends € 25,201 per week on operating costs and guest expenses, with boutiques and fuel making up the two largest individual expenses. In fact, fuel and boutique shopping are also the two largest expenses for larger vessels in the 50-60m range (but in reverse order), though unsurprisingly, all expenses have increased significantly in value. Fuel consumption has more than doubled from € 6,577 to € 13,949, while boutique shopping is growing by a much smaller amount. The total weekly operating and guest expenses of a 50-60m superyacht increase to € 41,877.
How costs are ranked between the two size classes is no different, except between boutique shopping and fuel, with both size categories having the same cost order, from most expensive to lowest. The lowest costs are for private car rental and transportation, and household goods and services.
However, it’s not just guests and operating expenses that add to the overall spending of superyachts, and more and more facilities, whether it’s summer destinations or hibernation hubs, are increasingly paying attention to the role of crew. There are a number of reasons to involve the crew in policies or investment strategies to increase super yacht traffic.
First of all, the influence the crew has on the popularity of winter destinations is often underestimated. Given the fact that owners and captains strive to keep their best crew on board, a location that meets the various needs of the superyacht crew will always be preferable to a location provided the cost is not exorbitant that the crew finds uncomfortable. Second, if the crew enjoys a location, they are much more likely to spend their money on the spot.
According to our data, the average crew of a 30-40m long superyacht will spend € 2,727 per week in summer and € 3,779 per week in winter. First and foremost, the largest expenditure on food and drink is made with the least expenditure on training. There is no doubt that spending increases in winter (except for food and drink) because the crew has more free time and no guests or owners have to worry on board. The largest single expenses in winter are for travel and home visits.
As expected, crew expenses increase significantly in both winter and summer as the size of the ship increases. This growth will of course be spurred on by the fact that there will be more crew on board. In fact, the average weekly expenses for the crew on board a 50-60m superyacht increase to € 6,017 in summer and € 11,626 in winter. The contribution of the superyacht crew to the local communities is significant and therefore more and more regions and institutions are considering the influence of the superyacht crew.
In order for governments or investors to make significant changes to yacht infrastructure or policies, they must have access to investable data. Being able to demonstrate the utility of the superyacht business has helped regions like Thailand, Australia and others develop their policies and expand their superyacht markets.
Obviously, the average weekly spend of a superyacht is only a small piece of the entire data puzzle. The real strength of consulting lies in the overlaying of databases in order to obtain a clear picture of strengths, opportunities and weaknesses. For example, overlaying average spend data with migration data creates a powerful resource. For more information on the economic investment strategy, click here to contact us The superyacht agency.
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Which country would benefit most from investable data on spending and driving patterns of superyachts?
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