War in Ukraine hits the yacht tourism industry

The market for crewed yachts larger than 35 meters is being hit by the war in Ukraine, according to market participants.

The cancellations have already begun as the Russians hold a very large market share and the Americans who hold a larger one feel insecure to come to Greece for holidays during the war, said Mr. Michalis Skoulikidis, President of the Hellenic Maritime Tourism Association, speaking at the 1st Captains Yacht Forum of the Hellenic Yacht Crew Association (HYCA).

The pressures on these boats will be huge, he added, and it is most likely, as he estimated, that the market will turn negative sharply, especially in large manned boats over 35 meters.

Caution

At the moment, Mr. Skoulikidis continued, all European governments are making efforts to alleviate and assist the affected sectors. Professional manned boats over 35 meters are an affected sector of this war and we are waiting for the support of the state.

“We should be wary of the course of our industry after the end of the pandemic, although I notice that some have discounted the course of the market, forgetting the experience of the past and the reality of the present with the war in Ukraine,” the president of the Hellenic Maritime Tourism Association said.

In this context, Mr. Skoulikidis called on the Minister of Shipping, Giannis Plakiotakis, to review some of the provisions of the new law on yachts that he is promoting.

Did the Ministry of Shipping not rush due to the war between Russia and Ukraine and revise many things in articles 8 and 9 concerning foreign commercial vessels, Mr. Skoulikidis wondered?

Need for a new law

Certainly he added, we need a new law, which, however, should be made from scratch, not inhouse but in cooperation and discussion with the competent bodies and not a posteriori in consultation. The involvement of the institutions from the beginning has to do mainly with the knowledge of the commercial part that the people of the Ministry do not comprehend.

The president of the Hellenic Maritime Tourism Association also pointed out that “it is wrong to say that we have cabotage, anyone can be active in Greece.” As explained by Regulation 3577/92 of the European Union, the free movement of maritime transport services, which stipulates that each Member State must apply the same conditions to its nationals as to nationals of other Member States, is fully applicable in Greece.

We are, continued Mr. Skoulikidis, in favor of the free market but on the same terms for a healthy and not unfair competition. The new bill needs enough elaboration to defend the wider interests of Greece. This needs calm, prudence, thought, study and not screams and promises for future, vague benefits, the speaker concluded.