“Size matters in luxury yachting“
The industry of luxury yachting is booming. Every day the number of new yachts being built which surpass the length of 30 m is increasing. The development of the last 10 years in this field is so tremendous that even yachts ranging in size from 60 m to over 100 m in length are not a rarity anymore. REUTERS reports that whereas just 15 years ago there were only 800 luxury-yachts in Europe which surpassed a length of 20 m, nowadays already 30 000 vessels can be counted. And it seems that the booming success of these vessels with a length of over 30 m has still not reached its peak. The magazine Yacht Report 2006 comments on this subject: “In the course of this year approximately 22 km of yachts (seen lined up in an imaginary row) from over 30 m to far more than 100 m are scheduled for completion.”
Mega-yachts are built for “eternity” and Germany’s share in their building is quite considerable. Until now few efforts have been made to gain the interest of mega-yacht owners’ in using their vessels in the local waters North of Europe, where conditions are perfectly suited to luxury yachting. On the contrary, the exploitation of the Baltic Sea region for cruising purposes has been completely underestimated and neglected until now.

The Industry of Mega-Yachts as a “Job Machine”
Worldwide mega-yachts play a significant role in any regional economic life. It is not only the construction of respective marinas that one has to consider but the profit for; industry, manufacturers, shipyards, subcontractors, outfitters and the entire sector of tourism, as well. All these domains can only benefit from the successful establishment of a well functioning infrastructure created for these mega-yachts. This huge potential of development in the Baltic Sea region still lies entirely fallow, but MPDI are here to change that.

Restrictions and Problems in ‘Popular’ Cruising Areas
An increasing number of mega-yachts faces a considerably insufficient offer of suitable moorings and services world wide. In addition the classical popular cruising areas like the Mediterranean Sea and the Caribbean are also exposed to increasingly substantial problems.
Due to damages caused by more frequent and forceful hurricanes in the Caribbean in the past few years many insurers deny complete coverage or provide only limited coverage to those yacht owners who stay with their vessels in the Caribbean region during the most likely time of hurricanes, in the summer months. This restricted coverage might be possibly extended to the regions around Florida. Alternative cruise areas for these yachts are the north-east of the United States, Europe and Asia/Pacific.
In Europe they crowd into the region of the Mediterranean Sea already heavily frequented by super-yachts. This causes congestion and escalating mooring rates, provoking yacht owners’ anger as berths become increasingly more difficult to find and at a greater expense.
Additional forecasts predicting higher temperatures in the course of the global climate change even in the Northern latitudes worsen the scenario as consequently the climate of the Southern regions, i.e. the South of Spain, France, Italy and so on become increasingly warmer, too warm for many travellers. On a more positive note however, the Baltic Sea region will have its summers extended with more days (30 – 90 per year) at warm, comfortable temperatures resulting in a longer season suited to cruising and exploring.
Finally, security is also a relevant and important subject for the mega-yacht community. Apart from the problem of increasing crime and piracy in the Caribbean, the mega-yachters’ concerns focus as well on the security issues in the Mediterranean Sea where the new threat of terrorism, riots motivated by religion and increasing illegal migration have had a negative impact on the entire industry.

Exploring New Shores!
There is no doubt about this new trend of exploration since the ship owners’ and captains’ demand for adventure is growing. The international yachting scene is looking for new destinations. Bigger yachts want to explore areas which are still “off the beaten track”. In this aspect the Baltic Sea offers a promising perspective; the German Baltic Coast. Scandinavia and the Baltic Region are more than attractive destinations as the conditions for mega-yachts change in their favour. It is indeed possible now to cruise in the Baltic Sea region with the new mega-yachts, but yacht harbours offering appropriate berths and respective yacht facilities are still missing which is where MPDI ‘enter the picture’.

Learning from Cruise Ship Tourism
The cruise ships have set a good example: Whereas the growth in the first-class-cruise sector was worldwide quoted with 6 % per year since the turn of the millennium, the Baltic Sea region has registered in recent years, a growth rate of 15 % yearly: a profit much more than twice that of previous years. From an editorial in “The Triton” (April/2007); “In 2004 governments around the Baltic Sea got together to attract cruise ships and proudly announced this year (2007) that it is the No.1 emerging destination.”
The neighbouring states of the Baltic region also profit from being “new destinations”, these are secure countries with beautiful landscapes which are rich in thousands of years of culture and history. The Nordicum Scandinavian Business Magazine (edition 4/ 2006) states; “In the Baltic Sea Region one can, for example, experience spectacular natural phenomenal (sic.!) lights, while enjoying a delightfully mild summer climate. That’s why the natural experience is one of its branding themes (sic.!). Other themes are the history spanning centuries, all the Baltic destination(s) boast magnificent places and carry remarkable treasures of the past and present.”