Greece invites you to join the rich and famous by cruising the Aegean on your own yacht. The benefits are stacked in the favor of Aegean yacht cruising, says Michael Skoulikidis, president of the Greek Yacht Brokers and Consultants Association. With our near perfect
To top it all, ancient sea trading routes crisscross Greece`s 2,000 islands, which means that nearly all of the ancient monuments are naturally accessible by sea. What a more perfect way of taking in a bit of culture than from your private yacht.
Another benefit is price. A crewed vessel comes at a price as low as $100 per day per person. For a bare-boat charter (no crew on board) it`s as low as $20 per day. Compare that to what you would spend per day at a five-star hotel and you`ll find that if money spent on taxis, expensive meals and excursions are taken into account, your own yacht holiday is actually cheaper than a resort holiday.
So there we have it – now we can save money by arranging a group of our closest friends to charter a private yacht, with its own crew. The key trick here, of course, is to carefully select your shipmates, otherwise you may end up walking the plank.
Whatever your choice, a yacht of your own or sharing one with friends, Greek yacht brokers consider there product incomparable. Greece is no where near the Caribbean market in terms of volume of business in the yacht charting, says Mr. Skoulikidis, but the Mediterranean offers many more advantages. For example, our record of safety and security – no sharks and safe navigation as you`re always close to land – and no piracy. And for the visitor there are many different groups islands to visit; complete with an endless choice of scenery and culture mix.
To increase yacht charters, some companies are making the chore as easy as possible. Others are out to give you just a taste of heaven. Greek broker Ghiolman Yachts, for example, offers a brand new flotilla product this summer: It`s a `hop-on hop-off` system designed so that clients can board from one Greek island port and get off at another. The company says it welcomes parties of any size so that a couple can book a cabin aboard a vessel and join a group. It`s a bit like getting on a bus, except its on water. It`s a great way of trying out a yachting holiday says Mr. Ghiolman.
Even without such enticing products, across the board, Greek brokers report an impressive increase in chartering: For the past several years they have seen a steady annual rise of 8-12% in charters.
As well, for the coming season, some brokers, like Rhodes Yachting, predict at least 20% more clients on the very lucrative incentive trip yachting program. The majority of our clients are from the U.S., says broker Spiros Papanikolaou. From here we see there is growing demand for our top end motor yachts for corporate functions, like incentive trips. These very up-market charters start at about $2,500 per day with crew, but if our clients want special arrangements, like diving apparatus and water sports equipment, etc., the fee can climb to a couple of hundred thousand dollars per trip.
That may sound extremely expensive to some, but prices for today`s super yachts start at around $5 million and run up to well over $30 million. To that, add annual running expenses which amount to about 10% of the yachts value.
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Greece invites you to join the rich and famous by cruising the Aegean on your own yacht. The benefits are stacked in the favor of Aegean yacht cruising, says Michael Skoulikidis, president of the Greek Yacht Brokers and Consultants Association. With our near perfect
To top it all, ancient sea trading routes crisscross Greece`s 2,000 islands, which means that nearly all of the ancient monuments are naturally accessible by sea. What a more perfect way of taking in a bit of culture than from your private yacht.
Another benefit is price. A crewed vessel comes at a price as low as $100 per day per person. For a bare-boat charter (no crew on board) it`s as low as $20 per day. Compare that to what you would spend per day at a five-star hotel and you`ll find that if money spent on taxis, expensive meals and excursions are taken into account, your own yacht holiday is actually cheaper than a resort holiday.
So there we have it – now we can save money by arranging a group of our closest friends to charter a private yacht, with its own crew. The key trick here, of course, is to carefully select your shipmates, otherwise you may end up walking the plank.
Whatever your choice, a yacht of your own or sharing one with friends, Greek yacht brokers consider there product incomparable. Greece is no where near the Caribbean market in terms of volume of business in the yacht charting, says Mr. Skoulikidis, but the Mediterranean offers many more advantages. For example, our record of safety and security – no sharks and safe navigation as you`re always close to land – and no piracy. And for the visitor there are many different groups islands to visit; complete with an endless choice of scenery and culture mix.
To increase yacht charters, some companies are making the chore as easy as possible. Others are out to give you just a taste of heaven. Greek broker Ghiolman Yachts, for example, offers a brand new flotilla product this summer: It`s a `hop-on hop-off` system designed so that clients can board from one Greek island port and get off at another. The company says it welcomes parties of any size so that a couple can book a cabin aboard a vessel and join a group. It`s a bit like getting on a bus, except its on water. It`s a great way of trying out a yachting holiday says Mr. Ghiolman.
Even without such enticing products, across the board, Greek brokers report an impressive increase in chartering: For the past several years they have seen a steady annual rise of 8-12% in charters.
As well, for the coming season, some brokers, like Rhodes Yachting, predict at least 20% more clients on the very lucrative incentive trip yachting program. The majority of our clients are from the U.S., says broker Spiros Papanikolaou. From here we see there is growing demand for our top end motor yachts for corporate functions, like incentive trips. These very up-market charters start at about $2,500 per day with crew, but if our clients want special arrangements, like diving apparatus and water sports equipment, etc., the fee can climb to a couple of hundred thousand dollars per trip.
That may sound extremely expensive to some, but prices for today`s super yachts start at around $5 million and run up to well over $30 million. To that, add annual running expenses which amount to about 10% of the yachts value.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
