Some people who used to cruise are now buying yachts. This comes as the number of vessels under construction -or on order- worldwide hit a new record compared to two years ago. Fraser, one of the top yacht companies, sold $1.6 billion in inventory, a 175% increase from the prior year. While rising fuel prices and limited docking pose a threat to the industry, many analysts believe this boom in sales of superyachts is just beginning. Michael Busacca, COO of Fraser Yachts, discusses the state of the yacht industry and how sailing habits have changed since the pandemic.

Opening Bell

Demand for Chartering, Buying Yachts Booms

this boom in sales of the super yachts, if you will, is just beginning. So here to discuss is Michael Busacca ceo of fraser yachts, Thank you so much for being here. Can you start off by giving us an idea of the demand for chartering yachts? The, you know, the demand right now is for chartering yachts is uh, it's about, it's up about 40% um and that's quite a bit in the past two years, um, and it's uh, it's just been, a it's been an incredible, um. You know, nearly 40% of the clients are now charting and yachting. It's incredible how much this pandemic has really made a change in our industry, Wow, just looking at these videos of these pictures is beautiful. Talk to us about this two years ago, the average age of Fraser customers was a base of between 55 and 65 years old and that average age has now fallen to between 45 and 55 years old. So can you explain maybe a little bit more about the customers and how they're selling habits have changed since the pandemic? Well, I think the, the, the age definitely has changed uh, since, since we started, and since the pandemic, uh, a lot more of our clients have leaned more to purchasing yachts and chartering yachts, uh, because the pandemic has really made a huge impact in our business and people just wanted to go out and uh, enjoy their families and, and take yachts and basically when they charter they're doing everything they want to do and it's, it's endless from cuisine to, to having fun in, in the caribbean to the Bahamas and in europe and Amalfi coast all around the world. I like the sound of that. So where are people, doctor, you say all around the world, But are there more popular locations that people are docking and touring their boats? So people are charring. We're seeing a lot of charters in the, in the Bahamas, caribbean grease differential ferriera, Croatia. All kinds of, even people do in Antarctica in Alaska. So all around the world, people are chartering yachts. People have also bought purchased yachts that have, have gone, you know around the world with their yachts. These, these yachts are, can go anywhere. Some of these yachts are so big that they have an endless desk and they all look beautiful. It looks like so much fun, especially that with little jet skiing action going on. So which vessels do you think in your fleet are getting the most attention. You know what, and also what is the lead buying time? I know that you guys are booked up right now. So, you know, charter as far as charter goes? Uh, there's so many charters going on that uh, there's a, there's actually a limited, there's a, there's a limit how many yachts are available anymore. I mean everybody, there's so many people charging for the first time that there's a, there's a big demand on finding charter boats that will charter, there's that many charters going on, as far as purchasing yachts, new builds. Uh, if you were to purchase a new build at a shipyard, it might take up to anywhere from 4 to 6 years to build. So people are, I don't want to wait that long. So they're going to second hand yachts and just to grab yachts to use for their families and travel the world because that's a long time to wait. I'm all down for charter in one instead, save a few dollars there. But if someone is going to buy one or have one built, what is the return value? You know, does it hold its investment when you're considering to buy one when you purchase a yacht, whether it's a new build or a charter, you want a charter. Um, you know, the investment, um, can be on charter, you can offset your expenses by chartering if you own a yacht, you want a charter, you can offset your expenses and uh, you know, do pretty good. And then when you go to sell the boat, you know, lately people have sold, bought, purchased and bought boats and actually made a profit selling boats even after 23 years. Wow, okay, that's a good sign then. And lastly, what factors should people consider when buying a yacht versus chartering one? And just really quickly, we only have a few seconds left, uh, dependent, just decide what you want to do, what model, where you want to go, your destination, what size, how much you're gonna use it, whether you want to charter it or not. Those are all important factors. And when buying a yacht, Alright, well, we'll try to put those into consideration. Hopefully I'll have some bucks to buy one. Thank you so much, Michael Busacca. We appreciate your time.