Business booming for $50m charter boat industry! - Operators
Our newsroom contacted some owners and operators of both crewed and bareboat charter business and they reported that the last bad year they had was back in 2009 with the economic downtown of the United States which had also affected numerous other small and large countries to varying degrees.
Peter J. Twist of Conch Charters, a bareboat charter company located in the Fort Burt Marina on the island of Tortola, explained that business was on the up and up.
“We did suffer in 2009 like everyone else with the US economic recession,” he told this news site, noting that they have since recovered. “We managed to come back up and this current season has been good,” said Twist, speaking to our news site this week.
He said general business was doing well and even though there were initial concerns regarding the USVI's six pack law, this mainly was a concern for crewed yachts, not bareboat yachts.
Regarding the laws and regulations followed, Twist said the standard rules of seamanship applies to their business such as operators must have a Captain’s licence and be documented in all requisite areas.
Good number of bookings for 2016
Charter Yacht Society Executive Director Janet Oliver said there are probably more than 1,000 yachts in the territory, with some being private and some chartered.
“In the charter industry there are the bareboats and the crewed yachts. There may be about 125 crewed yachts in the BVI, but there is over 700, probably about 800 bareboats. There are probably about 15 bareboats companies,” she explained.
“The business did well last year. Bookings come in in advance,” she said. “Many of them [yacht companies] are saying that they have a good number of bookings for next season.”
Oliver said it has been a fairly steady industry even though it had seen some dips in booking when the economy took a dip some years ago. “Bookings dropped but it does seem to be a fairly resilient industry,” she said.
Regarding regulations, Oliver said the yachts must obtain work permits for its crews if required, they must have a trade licence and must go through what each business goes through. “Each yacht is a business so the crew pays taxes, social security,” she said, noting that they must also be compliant with regulations as required by the Shipping Registry for operating in the VI waters.
Next season looking much better than previous years
Speaking to this news site, Donna Romasco of Regency Yacht Vacations and Yacht Sales said her company book charters for clients. She described her company is just one of four Yacht Charter Clearing Houses operating in the region.
“This season and next season they are looking to be much better than previous years,” she said. “We have seen a steady increase for the last five years. Every year we have had growth,” she said. “From 2010 on we have had steady growth.”
Asked what is responsible for this growth, Romasco said that people have money and they just want to go and enjoy themselves.
“It is a great value. You get the boat, you get meals, you get the open bar, you get the water toys, you get to go island to island,” she said.
We need a boat-friendly government
Speaking to this news site also was Kathleen Mullen of Regency Yacht Vacations and Yacht Sales, who said a good worldwide global economy is responsible for the good business.
“This is a leisure business…you don’t have to have a yacht charter, you don’t have to have a vacation. You need a good global economy where people have money to spend on something non-essential. And you need to have a friendly government and things like cleanliness and security in order to make it a great charter destination,” she said.
She noted too that the natural beauty of the Virgin Islands is well known and is one of the selling points for a yacht vacation here. “That is why they have made bookings next year and the year after because they have money to spend,” she said.
“If I had any concern is that we maintain a boating friendly government to encourage people to come as people that own boats have money and it helps everybody if they spend it here rather than go someplace else,” she said.
Mullen noted that unlike real estate property, boats can go anywhere and not stay where they are so it behoves the territory to ensure that the boats remain here.
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13 Responses to “Business booming for $50m charter boat industry! - Operators”
It is a myth that we get repeats from cruise ships because most middle class people save for a lifetime trip and it is their one big shot. Next time they visit another country or island. Pay attention to the charters and don't crowd them out by taking moorings for more development. It also saves wear and tear on the land environment.