Altagamma-Deloitte's recommendations for the development of recreational boating in Italy

The study "Pleasure Boating in Italy" by Deloitte and Altagamma was presented today in Milan. It was presented by Giovanna Vitelli, Altagamma's vice president for the Nautical sector and president of the Azimut Benetti Group, along with Tommaso Nastasi, Deloitte's senior partner, in the presence of Matteo Lunelli, president of Altagamma.

Giovanna Vitelli, addressing the significant data from the Italian nautical industry, also presented the Foundation's reflections, highlighting the priorities for strengthening the sector. These priorities, in summary, include: aligning nautical rental and chartering with the tourism and hotel sector in terms of VAT rates; aligning the procedures and regulations for the Italian flag with those of other international registries to increase its attractiveness; and simplifying bureaucratic procedures, such as those related to checks on recreational boaters or registration for recreational craft.

Going into detail, the study on the economic and employment impact of the sector finds that the Italian nautical industry grew three times as much as the national GDP from 2012 to 2022. Its impact is 2,7 times the direct economic impact and six times the employment impact. And it demonstrates untapped potential: only 6% of superyachts (>24m) in Italy fly the Italian flag.

This is the first study to examine the economic and employment impact of the yachting industry in Italy, a global leader in the production of yachts over 24 meters, taking into account both shipbuilding and nautical tourism. The analysis takes into account both the upstream activities following the vessel's delivery—new vessel construction, refits, and extraordinary maintenance—as well as the subsequent use (downstream) and the benefits generated by permanent or seasonal presence along the country's coasts.

"The analysis demonstrates not only the importance of the Italian nautical industry," Giovanna Vitelli emphasized, "but also the untapped potential of a sector with significant growth potential: despite Italy being a world leader in superyacht construction, only 6% of these sail under the Italian flag. This hampers the beneficial effects that superyachts can generate locally. Therefore, it is necessary to intervene to increase the attractiveness of the Italian flag, charters on our coasts, assimilating VAT to the hotel industry, and our marinas, which are true nautical tourism destinations."

"Recreational boating is a strategic sector for Italy, both for its economic contribution and for its spillover to other Made in Italy and tourism supply chains. Greater valorization of the nautical services and tourism supply chain can generate significant benefits for the Italian economy," says Tommaso Nastasi, Senior Partner at Deloitte Italy.

Turning to the numbers for the Italian recreational boating industry: with an overall impact of approximately €27,7 billion and 157.000 jobs, it activates the complementary supply chains of tourism and Made in Italy, with a total economic multiplier effect of almost 2,7 times and an implicit employment increase of 6,0 times.

These values, the study emphasizes, must spark a debate about the main growth opportunities for the sector and its entire supply chain, with particular attention to the development of activities related to the use of vessels, which currently account for more than half of the overall impact.

Specifically, the upstream sector, i.e., Italian new-build shipbuilding—which accounts for 50% of the global superyacht orderbook—is characterized by the use of highly professional operations with extensive know-how and technical expertise, which have enabled it to generate an overall economic and employment impact of approximately €11,4 billion, involving over 54.000 direct, indirect, and related jobs.

Regarding the downstream sector, an even more significant contribution comes from the impact that nautical tourism and fleets have on local communities. Italy, in fact, remains a key international destination both during the winter season, thanks in part to the excellent manufacturing capabilities of the refit sector, and during the summer season, thanks to the unique and attractive nature of the country's coastline. The fleet's total economic impact, one-third of which is generated by local tourism spending, is €16,3 billion, representing an economic multiplier of 2,7x and employing 103.000 people.

One of the main opportunities for expanding the nautical tourism industry therefore comes from the development of port facilities: only 30% of available berths in Italy are located in marinas equipped and suitable for hosting yachts and superyachts, with technical and tourist services suited to their users.

The high-end yachting industry, which involves large yachts over 18 meters in length, is the segment with the most significant impact on the region: it represents 65% of the total economic impact (amounting to €27,7 billion), with 80% of the value coming from upstream (shipbuilding). Furthermore, despite representing only about 2% of the fleet visiting Italy, it generates 55% of the downstream value, i.e., the value deriving from the use of the vessels.

Large yachts spend 26 times more on land than average, and only 6.5% of superyachts (>24m) fly the Italian flag. This represents a significant economic and employment contribution for Italy, capturing the interest of a global niche of high-spending consumers whose spending translates into a potentially even more significant socioeconomic contribution.

Altagamma's statement explains that a "large yacht" registered in Italy, with an Italian crew and sailing on the country's coasts for at least 10 weeks a year, would generate a total annual contribution of €1.6 million per vessel. Hosting a growing number of yachts, both in transit and especially in permanent residence, would generate significant economic impacts as well as employment.

Specifically, over the past 50 years, Italy has produced approximately 5.000 pleasure boats over 24 meters, and of these, only 172 are registered under the Italian flag. Considering that each pleasure boat over 24 meters registered in the country's flag employs an average of 10 seafarers, 1.000 boats registered in Italy—just one-fifth of production—would employ approximately 10.000 seafarers and create a 60.000-person workforce.

The already significant impact of recreational boating at the national level therefore presents several growth opportunities through the valorization of its entire supply chain and the possibility of extending the recognized global leadership in yacht and superyacht construction to the nautical services and tourism sector, attracting growing demand both nationally and internationally.

The main development guidelines for increasing the nautical tourism industry therefore include both specific regulatory adjustments to make the Italian flag more attractive, as well as increased investment in port infrastructure and related services, strengthening technical and management skills and developing innovative and sustainable platforms.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE SUPER YACHT 24 NEWSLETTER