The evolution of nautical consumption since mid-last year indicated that 2021 would be a good year for the nautical market and Spain has overcome the barrier of the 7,000 registration of recreational boats, a figure that was not reached since 2008, before the great economic crisis that reduced the sector to seventy percent of its volume. A new crisis, in this case of health, has brought to light the best of the nautical sector, the strength it has achieved in these years and the great ability to adapt as an economic engine and to plicate for the impulse of quality nautical tourism... according to the opinion of Carlos Sanlorenzo General Director of ANEN (Photo Pedro Seoane)

The nautical market closes the best exercise in numbers of registration of recreational boats reached since 2008, before the great economic crisis. In the year 2021, 7,178 recreational vessels have been registered, 17% more than in 2019 and 33% more than in 2020.

In the nautical charter market (rental of recreational boats) the growth of the registration of ships for this use has been 25% with respect to 2019 and 70% with repecto last year.

Of the total number of registered registrations, 72% are for private-use vessels and 28% for vessels for the nautical charter.

These are the data collected in the: Annual Report of the market for recreational craft 2021; edited by ANEN from the data provided by the General Directorate of the Merchant Navy.

As regards 2019, smaller vessels, up to 8 metres long, remain the most demanding (86% of the nautical market) and have a 15% increase in their enrolment. The segment between 8 and 12 meters (9.7% of the nautical market) is growing by 40%.

The length between 12 and 16 meters (3.1% of the nautical market) enrol 19.3% more units and the larger vessels, more than 16 meters (1% of the nautical market) have registered 72 units in 2021, an increase of 14.3% over 2019 data.

By type of vessel

Compared to 2019 data, motor ships remain the most demanding (44.8% of the market, two more points than in 2019) and grow by 22.6% in enrollments. They are followed by water bikes (24.7% of the market) with an increase in enrolment of 9.6%.

The following markets with the highest demand are semi-rigid pneumatic vessels (12.5%) that increase their enrolments by 10% and folding pneumatic (9.8% of the market) that grow by 6.5% in enrollments.

The sailboats have been the largest increase in registration in 2021 (43.6%) compared to 2019, and although it is still the segment with the lowest market share (8.2%) have increased its demand 1.5 points compared to 2019.

With a 25% growth in the registration of recreational craft for commercial use, in relation to 2019, the charter market has a good performance. In 2021 there have been 1,992 registrations of ships for the charter in respect of the 1,595 registrations in 2019.

Andalusia with the highest market share (21.6%) has grown by 33% in registered units over the same period in 2019 and 28.8% over 2020. It is followed by Catalonia, which represents 18.1% of the nautical market and has grown by 15.1% in enrolment compared to 2019 and 53.8% with 2020. Balearic Islands, the third autonomous community per market share (16.65%), increases its enrolment by 4.2% over 2019 and 17.6% over 2020.

The Community of Valencia, Madrid and the rest of the Communities are behind the market share.

* A deviation of 47 more than those recorded by province is estimated in the report in 2019 (6,080) than in the current report in 2021 (6,127) due to the decline in the computation of these records, which began to be managed in 2019 and calculated in 2020.

In the charter market, the Balearic Islands head the rental market with 24.6% share, followed by Catalonia (18.11%), the Valencia Community (18.6%) and Andalusia (15.8%).