The number of yacht owners will triple in five years'' time, according to representatives of the companies that operate in this segment.
The small club of yacht owners currently comprises about 100 persons, including businessmen, politicians, stars, as well as lawyers, managers of multinationals and doctors.
"We will surely see a market boom. According to our estimates, this will start happening as soon as next summer," says Catalin Padurean, a CEO with Royal Yacht Romania, the latest addition to the Romanian boat dealers. Padurean says that, in line with the most pessimistic scenario, the yacht market will triple by 2010 and, according to the most upbeat predictions, the market will grow ten times.
Since February 1, 2005, the company has sold four yachts totally worth 1.2 million euros. Royal Yacht sells the Jeanneau, Sunseeker and Performance yacht brands in Romania and Bulgaria.
For a boat to be included in the yacht category, it has to meet two conditions: to have cabins and to be more than 7-metre long.
"The value of the yacht market will reach 15-20 million euros annually by 2010," says Francesco Fischetti, the general manager of Franco''s Marina, the sole Ferrettti dealer in Romania. If we add the segment of boats that cannot be classified as yachts, which companies estimate at 15 million euros, the total market is worth 30 million euros. Generally, the price of a yacht starts from around 100,000 euros, when the yacht is at least 7-metre long, and can go as high as 5 million euros when the yacht is 27-metre long. These are, however, only producer prices, to which taxes and customising costs are added.
There are smaller boats as well, which cannot be classified as yachts, and for which prices begin from 10,000 euros (cheaper than a car).
If all boat owners in Romania are considered, including the fishermen from the Danube Delta, the estimates show there are around 5,000 boats in Romania (yachts plus other ships).
"Strictly referring to yachts, we can currently speak about a market of 5 million euros annually, at most. Should all the other boats be included, we can even reach 10 million euros," says Catalin Padurean.
According to the companies'' statistics, Romania has one boat per 2,750 inhabitants, while in Italy for instance the ratio is one boat per 66 inhabitants, and in Poland one boat per 471 citizens. The average in the European Union countries is one boat per 76 inhabitants.
"I feel the yacht market should triple by 2010," says Cristy Baisan, owner of Black Sea Magic firm. Baisan is a Romanian national who used to live in Great Britain and the US and who decided to invest in the Romanian sailing market. He set up Black Sea Magic in 2004.
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