Concern in the Ibiza yacht charter industry: "We are not working and we are going into a three-month season"

"Unlike last year, this year we have had good weather and little demand. The problem is that our costs have increased by 25% in the last four years," says Van Der Hooft: "The situation is complicated "

The season has not started well for the nautical charter in Ibiza. It rains in the wet because last season was not good. Both events have intensified the concern of businessmen in the sector who see that the turnover of the pandemic years has gone down in history, as well as the pre-season and post-season, which allows infer that the nautical charter in Ibiza is moving towards a more seasonal season, as is usual in other destinations, of three months, from mid-June to mid-September. All this, in a scenario of sharp increase in costs.

We talk about all this with Ramón Van Der Hooft (Den Helder, Netherlands, 1983), president of the Ibiza and Formentera Nautical Association integrated into Pimeef, with 47 associated companies, and CEO of Boating Group, a company with a division specialized in luxury nautical charter.

-What is the situation of the nautical charter sector at the moment?

-Unlike last year, when the season started very badly because we had the weather against us, this year we have the weather in our favor. However, demand has remained very low, similar to last year, that is, we are repeating the pattern but with the difference that we have the weather in our favor.

So we can conclude that things are changing and that we have stopped having a preseason and are heading towards an increasingly shorter season and, therefore, an increasingly demanding and difficult business.

-I imagine there is concern in the sector.

-Indeed, there is great concern in the sector because now we know that the problem we had last year at the beginning of the season was not due to the weather, since this year, with good weather, the low demand is repeated.

And, furthermore, the situation is worse because as a result of the drop in business volume last year, some companies are less prepared than a year ago to face the season. I think we could end up in a critical situation. Everyone has the lungs for a bad season, but two in a row is more difficult.

-Are there many companies that are going to have to close?

-The situation is very difficult and that is why I mention that it can become critical. We are at a similar volume to that before 2019, before the pandemic, in terms of demand and sales prices, but with the big difference that costs have increased by 25% in the last four years.

These cost increases have not gone hand in hand with a price increase, since to maintain demand we have had to maintain prices or even lower them through last minute offers or more aggressive offers.

-Now they no longer have the problem of lack of skippers thanks to the training given at Can Marines. Do you also notice the lack of personnel like the rest of the island's economic sectors?

-Yes and it is a fundamental part of the problem we are having in terms of increased costs. In addition to the CPI, the lack of personnel that has generated the lack of housing forces us to offer longer contracts with housing. This situation is incompatible with the loss of the preseason, since not only do we not work in April and May, but in addition these months we have more costs, so in high season we have to recover not only the winter deficit, which we already we were used to, but also the preseason deficit.

There is no doubt that without preseason or postseason, the situation is complicated because the profit margin has remained at very low values.

– The story is discouraging

-Yes, the situation discourages us, which does not mean that we are not prepared or willing to face the season. The sector has its fleets in good condition, the human resources and everything ready for us to start operating in June.

-Does the situation affect small, medium and large boat lengths equally?

-No. The large ones, over 24 meters, are completely paralyzed, something that is more common because it is a more seasonal market. The small ones, less than 12, are no longer profitable in Ibiza and there is less and less supply. The medium length is the one that is working the most, but very little, less than three times a week.

-It is inevitable that the sector will end up reorganizing itself with this panorama...

-I do believe that there will be a reorganization in the short term. Now we have added more operational stress and more uncertainty. Historically, we had always been the last link in the chain, since we are the last service that the client contracts. In fact, 80% of our sales occur when the client is already in Ibiza, unlike what happens with hotels and villas, since no one comes to Ibiza without having booked accommodation.

We are used to this situation, but now we have to combine it with the fact that the increase in costs that I told you about and the drop in demand mean that there is a lot of last-minute stress and a certain feeling of a flea market, since we have to be always prepared to meet any request, we cannot miss any opportunity and we have to work with a low commercial margin.

– Has there been any progress in the fight against intrusion and the legal but unfair charter that comes from abroad to make things worse, never better said?

-The Government has not been able to do anything to force charter companies from abroad to have a base port in the Balearic Islands and we will not be able to have that tool. We are in the hands of the town councils and other inspection services that can control, like the initiative of the Ibiza City Council in Talamanca, the legality of the boats and the boardings and disembarkations that occur outside the ports and try to eliminate this practice. authorized. It is clear that there is a lack of means to control these bad practices.

SOURCE: La Voz de Ibiza