Sailing boat registrations in Barcelona grew nearly 22% in 2014

After a period in the red, 2014 was a year of recovery for the marine industry, especially in terms of boat registrations. Over the past year Spain has seen an increase of 9.92%. Growth was particularly positive in Barcelona, rising from 378 in 2013 to 461 registrations in 2014, an increase of 21.96%. Barcelona is the second province, after the Balearic Islands, in the number of registrations and its share of this market in 2014 stood at 10.75%.

Altogether in Spain there were 4,290 vessels registered, compared to 3,903 in 2013. These data are taken from the Report of the pleasure craft market (January - December 2014) published by the Spanish National Association of Nautical Companies (ANEN), the federation which brings together 90% of the companies in the Spanish nautical industry, based on information provided by the Directorate-General of the Merchant Navy. The report details a progressive growth of almost 13% in registrations in the first three quarters of the year, with a slowdown in recent months.

According to Carlos Sanlorenzo, Secretary General of ANEN, the figures show a "stabilising of the sector after the crisis", but he notes that incentives are needed to bolster this propitious time for the nautical sector. In this regard he cites the example of the 57% growth of boats for hire in 2014. "The sector is mostly driven by the exemption from registration tax for vessels for charter", he concluded.

Rentals are driving the upward trend

Registrations of boats for hire, which has increased from 238 in 2013 to 373 registrations in 2014, are performing particularly well. These figures consolidate a sector that is growing strongly; in addition to the annual increase there has been a rise of almost 25% compared to 2007, the year before the crisis began.

Barcelona has also seen a considerable increase and the rental sector has doubled its results, both in terms of registered vessels, which rose from 13 to 44, and the market share of vessels for hire, which has gone up from 5.5% to 12%.

By length, we should also note the considerable increase of vessels up to 8 metres, the most popular in Spain, with a market share of about 90%. The number of vessels registered has risen from 3,530 in 2013 to 3,858 in 2014, representing an increase of 9%.

By type of motor, jet skis, which increased 50% over 2013, and semi-rigid inflatable boats, increasing by 27%, led the statistics. There was also some good news for sailing, which is recovering after years of declines. Registrations increased by almost 22% and reached 279 sailboats registered in 2014. Motorboats are still the most popular vessel, with a market share of 42%. In their case there was a slight decrease of 0.60% in registrations, falling from 1,841 vessels registered in 2013 to 1,830 last year.

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