You likely have seen and read lists of the world’s largest yachts. You may have even read lists ranking America’s largest yachts. Here’s a new one: the most popular countries for cruising when it comes to the superyacht set. The places on that list may, or may not, surprise you. Among the top 10 countries for megayacht visitors right now, the United States ranks number one.
Bloomberg news just conducted a comparison it calls “Where the Yachts Are.” By using publicly available vessel-tracking data, it compiled a listing of the countries, as well as how many yachts are in their waters. In addition, the news service took a look back at past months and years for changes. Furthermore, it examined the average LOAs.
As mentioned, U.S. shores lead the top 10 countries for megayacht visitors this month. Specifically, as of last week, Bloomberg finds that 158 yachts are in these coastal waters. (The news service defines “coastal waters” as being within two miles of the coastline.) Italy and Spain are tied for second, with 133 yachts apiece. France comes next, with 118. Yet another European country, The Netherlands, rounds out the top 10 countries. Eighteen yachts are in its waters. Conceivably, some of these visitors might be new launches. Regardless, the total is just one fewer than Australia, which ranks ninth.
Furthermore, the United States led the way in the month of March, too. In fact, Bloomberg finds that 161 megayachts were along U.S. shores. Italy and Spain took second and third place, respectively, with 124 and 103 cruisers.
What really caught our attention, however, were further statistics. Bloomberg noted the average length in feet, along with the percentage of new yachts, in each country. It defined new yachts as deliveries between 2010 and this year. Although American yards aren’t building the most megayachts, the shores are certainly attracting them. The news service found that 38 percent of the megayacht visitors were new. The average length: 163 feet (about 49.7 meters). Italy, meanwhile, has a higher number of new yachts, 44.4 percent. But, they averaged only slightly larger, 165 feet (50 meters). The Bahamas saw the biggest percentage of new yachts, nearly 56 percent. And, the United Arab Emirates had the largest LOA, 235 feet (about 71.63 meters).
Check out Bloomberg’s article for the full top 10. Note, too, that the news service intends to publish similar rankings next month. For a taste of what’s to come, consider that Italy came in first for visitors in May 2018, followed by the United States. The Bahamas rounded out the list.
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