ibinews.com International Boat Industry | AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2019 19
C
roatia, a top destination for visiting
yachts, continues to lead the world
in registered charter yachts and
bookings. According to the Croatian Chamber
of Economy, 630 active charter f leet providers
and a total of 3,910 vessels passed through
Croatian nautical ports in the first six months
of 2019. In 2018, yacht charter in Croatia
accounted for 3.5 million overnight stays.
A recently published article in Croatia’s Yacht
Charter Review claims that, until recently,
there was a big divide between the bareboat
sailing charter market and the luxury mega/
superyacht charter market, with the latter
being domiinated by large international
players. “This divide is slowly being bridged
by Croatian companies entering the luxury
market,” states the article. According to the
Croatian Chamber of Economy, in 2019
there were a total of 271 active charter vessels
in the 15m-20m range, while there were 93
charter vessels above 20m.
“Sailboats dominate the bareboat charter
market by far. The main reason is financial,
as sailboats typically sleep more guests, cost
less and have lower operating and servicing
costs, and a longer lifespan. But motorboats
have their advantages, and newer, spacious,
more efficient designs are entering the middle
market, while the exclusive yachts may be few
in numbers, but generate big revenues.”
The biggest trend in charter yachts over
the past few years has been the rise of the
sailing catamaran, as it seems to bridge the gap
between motor and sailing yachts.
In terms of boatbuilding, Croatian
producers of luxury motoryachts and sailboats
are few and far between. Instead, there are
many small, family-run operations building a
variety of pleasure boats that are adapted to
the Croatian boating lifestyle and compete
more on quality than cost, says Milan Šangulin,
director of the Biograd Boat Show (BBS).
Held at Marina Kornati in the resort town of
Biograd, BBS is Croatia’s biggest boat show and
one of the biggest in-water shows in CentralEurope. “Customisation
is also an important
strategy in the battle with
volume manufacturers, offering
lifestyle-related options that are popular for
the Croatian boating environment,” says
Šangulin. “Exports of pleasure craft have
slowed, with the domestic market responsible
for most of the demand.
“A couple of local charter companies have
entered into production of large monohull
sailing vessels such as the More 40 and 55, andCROATIA
REAL GDP GROWTH (2018) 2.6%
REAL GDP GROWTH (2019 est) 2.7%
NUMBER OF ADULTS 3.3 MILLION
NUMBER $ MILLIONAIRES 6,700
BOAT PARK 103,000
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE
(Change in index points Jun/Jul) -3.5%
NEW CAR SALES
(Change Jan-Jun ‘18/19) -0.2%WThe Biograd Boat
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pleasure craft manufacturers
have adapted to the needs of the
tourist industry by offering speacilsed
fast boats for transfers and adrenalin seekers.
A true success story comes from the village
of Krilo Jesenice, where 70 families have built
and operate more than 100 small luxury
cruise boats over the past decade. The total
fleet of cruisers is 180 (one for every four
citizens of the town) and they employ around
2,000 people during the tourist season.