Images, updates and footnotes to enhance your audio journey
PART ONE:
YOUR YACHTING ROADMAP
Chapter 2: Getting The Big Picture
What is yachting, what are we selling and who is buying?
In Chapter 2 of Smart Yacht Marketing 101 we take a look at the big picture of yachting - how many yachts exist in the world today, how many are for sale or charter at any one time, how many people work in yachting, how much the yachting market is worth and who are the people making up that illustrious set we call our prospects and clients.
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Reproduced below are the graphics and images from the print and eBook versions of this chapter together with new updates for 2023/2024 and accompanying notes from the Author.
The Worldwide Fleet 1988-2023
(above 30m/98')
Data courtesy of SuperYacht Times (SYT)
A word from the Author:
From the data included in Smart Yacht Marketing 101, according to Boat International (BI), the worldwide fleet of yachts 24m (79') and above is estimated to have grown from 10,300 in 2018 to just over 13,100 in 2024 - an increase of 27%. For yachts 30m (98') and above, SuperYacht Times (SYT) records a 19% increase from 4,851 yachts in 2017 to 5,787 in 2023 (see graph above) - with 2023 witnessing the greatest YoY growth (4.2%) in 10 years. Motor Yachts make up around 87% of the worldwide fleet with Sailing Yachts representing 13%.
Brokerage Fleet By Size (m)
Data compiled from Author's own mixed sources (24m+)
The Brokerage Market - An update from the Author:
Over the 11 years since yacht market records began in 2009 through to 2019, based on multiple sources, an average of 342 yachts were sold every year at an average value (based on last known Asking Price) of €8.5 million, generating an average annual sales total of around €2.9 billion. The average size of yacht sold was 36m (118'), with the 24-40m (79'-131') range accounting for more than 70% of all sales. The average age of yacht sold was 12.5 years.
And then came COVID…and with it, the greatest yachting boom on record.
In the key years 2020-2023, again based on reporting from multiple sources, yearly sales grew 95%, from the 342 average noted above to an average of just over 660 sales a year, with the total sales value increasing by no less than 83% from €2.9 billion to €5.3 billion. The greatest volume of growth was seen at the 24-30m (79'-118') entry level sector. According to some sources, first-time buyers went from making up around 15-20% of total buyers to a peak of over 40%.
Although the number of sales in 2024 and their total Asking Price value remained up on the 2009-2019 pre-Covid averages by 53% and 66% respectively, compared to its 2021 peak, the market slide in activity continued.
Based on data from multiple sources, just over 520 on and off-market sales of yachts above 24m (79') were recorded in 2024 (down 21% on the post-Covid yearly average) at a total last known Asking Price value of €4.8 billion (down 9% on the post-Covid yearly average) with more yachts joining the market for sale than being sold. According to data compiled by SuperYacht Times (SYT), just over 2,200 pre-owned yachts were publicly for sale at the beginning of 2025, listed at a total Asking Price value of just over €18.4 billion and an average Asking Price of €8.3 million.
Sailing Yachts account for around 13% of both the worldwide fleet and yachts for sale, and make up around 10% of yachts sold.
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The BI Global Order Book 2025 reports 185 shipyards were building over 1,100 yachts of 24m (79') and above (up 46% on the pre-Covid average for the years 2016-2019) at an average length of 40m (131'). Sailing Yachts made up around 6% of global orders, with Expedition Yachts continuing to grow in popularity and making up 9% of global orders. 25 yachts at 100m (328') and above were on order or under construction, and an impressive 31% of orders were being built on spec, with notable focus on the 24-27m (79'-89') range.
Skipping across to the charter sector of our industry (a sector we cover a lot in Smart Yacht Marketing 101, not least because of its continued growth potential amongst UHNWI), just over 3,500 yachts are reportedly available for charter offered by over 200 charter companies at an overall average weekly rate of €150,000–€200,000. Just over 2,200 of those yachts are listed on YACHTFOLIO by MYBA, The Worldwide Yachting Association, representing an increase in listings of 47% since 2018 and, according to their latest data, showing a bookings increase of over 70% for the period 2021-2024 with YoY growth in 2024 at 3.7%.​
And that...in a nutshell, is your blue-sky update on our world.
ULTRA HIGH NETWORTH TIERS 2018
Courtesy of Wealth-X 'WORLD ULTRA WEALTH REPORT 2018'
ULTRA HIGH NETWORTH TIERS 2024
Courtesy of Altrata powered by Wealth-X data 'WORLD ULTRA WEALTH REPORT 2024'
A word from the Author:
I note in Smart Yacht Marketing 101 that not only was the UHNW population growing in size and wealth...it was set to grow further and faster in the years to come.
And it has. Big time.
According to the Altrata data powered by Wealth-X, since the publication of Smart Yacht Marketing 101, the UHNW population has grown by no less than 66.6% from 255,810 individuals in 2017 to over 426,000 in 2023...their wealth increasing by over 53% from $31,5 billion in 2017 to $48,2 billion. As of 2022, more than 440 individuals had been added to the billionaire tier, up 16% on 2017 from 2,754 to over 3,190 individuals with an overall increase in wealth of 21% from $9,21 billion to $11,107 billion.
In the introductory 'Apology (if needed)' section of the book, I make a point of spotlighting the clearly unequivocally important and influential role that women play across the board within our world of yachting including in their position as clients. I shared the Wealth-X Billionaire Census 2018 data showing the growth of female billionaires outpacing that of their male counterparts in 2017 by 18% to 14.5%.
And that story of increasing presence and influence continues.
The Altrata Billionaire Census 2024 shows the number of female billionaires up 34% from 321 in 2017 to 431 in 2022, with women accounting for 13% of the billionaire population compared to 11.7% in 2017. And perhaps also worth consideration - 24.1% of those women were generating their own wealth compared to 16.9% back in 2017.
This growth is reflected across most of the UHNWI data compiled and shared by various providers, with research by global wealth managers Julius Bär indicating that women now make up 11% of the UHNW population compared to just 6.5% back in 2010.
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There's clearly a long way to go...but there is movement and, for now, it seems it is going in the right direction.
GLOBAL MAP OF THE ULTRA WEALTHY 2018
Courtesy of Wealth-X 'WORLD ULTRA WEALTH REPORT 2018'
GLOBAL MAP OF THE ULTRA WEALTHY 2024
Courtesy of Altrata powered by Wealth-X data 'WORLD ULTRA WEALTH REPORT 2024'
A word from the Author:
As you can see from the maps reproduced above, from a 'big picture' perspective, the Global Wealth Map hasn’t changed that much from the data presented in Smart Yacht Marketing 101.
With more than one third of the world’s UHNWIs recorded there, the USA remains home to more billionaires and UHNWIs than any other country in the world - in fact more than the next 7 countries put together! New York, Hong Kong and Los Angeles are the Top 3 cities favoured by UHNWI, with New York, Hong Kong and San Francisco the Top 3 for billionaires.
So it is perhaps not so surprising that even taking into account the challenges of gathering such information accurately, SYT report that American owners account for well over 23% of the 40m (131') plus worldwide fleet today - the largest single ownership of any one country.
One point also worth noting is the extent to which the UHNW population has grown within the Top 3 world locations since the publication of the book. As of 2023, the UHNW population in Europe grew by 54% (increasing in wealth by 47%) whilst Asia grew by 60% (with a 48% wealth increase). A strong set of numbers, and yet both locations pale ever so slightly when compared to the positively supercharged performance recorded by the USA with its UHNW population growth of no less than 78% and a stunning 69% increase in wealth.
One area that is perhaps worth keeping an eye on today, certainly within the yachting space, is one which has, since the 2017/18 data spotlighted in the book, more than doubled its UHNWI population (from just over 9,000 individuals to over 19,400 in 2023) alongside a wealth increase of over 70% to $2,630 billion.
I am, of course, referring to the Middle East.
A few thoughts...
Overall, the growth trends outlined in Smart Yacht Marketing 101 for both the UHNWI population and the yacht market itself have continued - often outpacing expectation. The significant worldwide geopolitical events, elections, and of course, the unexpected pandemic of the last few years, have clearly influenced the behaviour of our prospective and existing clients. However, resilience is the order of the day when it comes to desire and demand, and far from seeing wealth creation or the demand for yachts and yachting decline, both have continued to adapt and then grow.
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On the horizon, the aftermath of a global economy re-set, the environmental impact of yachts, supply chain issues, the recruitment of quality skills, expertise and know-how into the industry and the need to always be improving client service remain very much the focus for our industry's key players. And there can be no doubt that our business of yachting is going through an important re-shape today.
There continues to be an influx of new attention and new money coming to our industry in search of opportunity and change; some of the once most renowned and familiar brands are starting to wave their final goodbyes...and the battle to develop and integrate smarter technology with a more all-encompassing, industry-wide approach to all that we do today continues to rage hard.
As Jonathan Beckett, Chief Executive of Burgess, perceptively notes in his foreword to the book: "It is only now that I feel our industry has finally dragged itself to the 'starting line'! It is only now that I think we are really going to see our industry 'take off".
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Watch this space!
Useful links related to this chapter:
* The data shared above is designed to give a high level overview of the market. It collates data compiled by multiple sources unless otherwise stated. For a deeper dive into a wide range of datasets, check out the providers referenced in Smart Yacht Marketing 101 including the following providers whose data was integral to the summary above:
Boat International (BI) the home of BOATPro and lots more...
SuperYacht Times (SYT) the home of SYT iQ and so much more...
World UHNW reports and data produced by Altrata powered by Wealth-X data
MYBA (The Worldwide Yachting Association) powering industry excellence
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