"Yacht charter companies are going to have to close and we are scared for the future"

Van der Hooft, president of Pimeef nautical: "It is ironic that a luxury product like ours is suffering from Ibiza being an increasingly elitist destination because the upper-middle class customer has disappeared."

Ramon van der Hooft (Den Helder, Netherlands, 1983) is the president of the Ibiza and Formentera Nautical Association integrated into Pimeef, with 47 associated companies, and the CEO of  Boating Group, a company with four heads: rental nautical with more than 20 luxurious boats, both its property and third parties, boat maintenance through Servinautic, management integral part of its clients' boat so that they only worry about sailing and the exclusive distribution for the Balearic Islands of the shipyard Vanquish. He is, without a doubt, an authoritative voice in a sector that has ended "a bad season." He reviews in this interview with La Voz de Ibiza the enormous challenges that lie ahead.

-What assessment do you make of the nautical rental season that we can now consider over?

-It has not been a good season. In April and early May we started strong, and we all thought we were going to have a good season. In May and June the weather did not help but reality has shown us that there were more factors. An atypical and complicated season.

-What factors?

-The macroeconomic situation, with uncertainty due to war and inflation, is one of them. But he's not the only one. Ibiza as a destination is going to have to evaluate very carefully what has happened this summer. Prices have risen above the already high inflation and are through the roof. We have noticed much fewer people on the island and with less purchasing power, flights and accommodation are more expensive than in other destinations. So we have had less demand and a very wide supply.

-Is there an oversupply?

-This year yes, last year no. The base fleet has grown because we were coming off good seasons. We also suffer a lot of legal but unfair intrusion. We have suffered.  

-What do you mean by legal but unfair intrusion?

-Boats that are based on the Peninsula and that anchor on the beaches and coves without having an office or mooring here, but that have submitted a responsible declaration to the Government and, therefore, are legal. Our boats do their annual maintenance cycle here, we have an office, we have staff, we pay for moorings and here everything has a higher cost, so we cannot compete with the prices of outside companies.

It is an injustice that the sector suffers for economic reasons and also because it harms the image that the coves are saturated with boats that spend the entire summer anchored here. 

-Have you had a bad season then?

–Compared to last year, it has been a bad season for the nautical sector, with turnover below 2019, the last normal year, but with higher costs, which has left little margin, little profitability and many companies with losses that are going to have a very difficult time. 

-What percentage of decrease in turnover compared to 2022 are we talking about?

– 30% less than last year on average. My company has not dropped that much, 10%, but there have been people who have billed 50% less. 30% is the sector average.

-These are very bad data. 

–A lot. In addition, everyone expected a great year and faced with the risk of not having enough personnel to meet the demand, the team of captains and sailors was reinforced.

-Different realities coexist within the nautical charter. Between a boat that does not need a licence and a 30-meter boat to a catamaran that is rented by the week, there is a lot of difference. Has the season been bad for everyone?

-The small boats of up to 10 meters have suffered a lot, they have been very stopped. The average lengths, between 12 and 18 meters, have more or less worked. And the big boats started with little commitment and have not recovered. These lengths made long stays with overnight stays that have also disappeared from the market and have had to make occasional daily outings to save the furniture. 

-Have they made offers?

-Yes, everyone has made offers. In large lengths, the expense is brutal and you have to invoice no matter what. In large lengths is where I have seen the most offers. 

-This panorama is surprising and it says that there have been no people because the hoteliers and villas have decreased little compared to last year's record numbers and the airport registers record numbers of passengers. 

–Stays are becoming shorter, even single days. Airport data is not a good barometer for us. 

-Will companies close?

-Yes. More than one company is going to have to close because with the income they have had this summer they will not be able to meet the estimated expenses to be able to operate next year. Maintenance is expensive and essential. If a company does not have reserves, it is going to have a very difficult time.

-What scenario do you have for next year?

-We are scared. Our rates have risen below the increase in costs in recent years, therefore operations have lost profitability. We assume that next year we will not be able to increase rates and expenses will continue to rise. In view of how the market has behaved this year, the atmosphere is one of pessimism. We do not know how we can balance this situation and return charter companies to a sustainable margin in their operations. We are going to suffer. 

-And that is a luxury product...

-Yes. 

-Is it a reasonable hypothesis that the habits of repeat tourists are changing, that they have grown tired of going by charter to Formentera and are opting for another type of leisure offer?

-Leisure is in full swing and people have an increasingly tight schedule because they come fewer days. It is an irony of fate, we are a luxury product that we are suffering from Ibiza being an increasingly elitist destination. July and August we can afford it, but in pre- and post-season we depend on groups of friends, families who come on vacation, who raise the money, 100 or 200 euros per head, to spend a day on a boat. Not all of our clients are millionaires. The upper middle class has disappeared from the island and we need it in pre- and post-season to be active because we need a six-month season. Two months is not sustainable. 

VIA: La Voz de Ibiza