Yachting is such a big business in Italy that the industry brought in 440% more money than Ferrari

Every nation has something unique to offer. While most people associate Italy with sumptuous food, high fashion, and fast cars, the real star is its yachting industry. Italian shipyards are not only delivering some of the biggest and best luxury vessels, but Italy also builds more yachts than any other country in the world. This has resulted in significant business for the nation, which also benefits from being one of the most popular destinations for cruising and chartering.

The yacht industry brought in a whopping $30 billion in 2022. According to Forbes, an Altagamma-Deloitte study of the Italian Nautical Industry revealed the sector has shown tremendous growth, growing three times faster than Italy’s GDP from 2012 to 2022. Synonymous with Italy, automotive giant Ferrari reported a revenue of 5 billion euros ($5.55 billion) in 2022, employing nearly 5,000 people. The yachting industry, a major economic force in Italy, employs 157,000 people, with at least 55,000 involved in yacht building.

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The Lana superyacht by Benetti. Image – Charterworld

Examples of unmatched Italian shipbuilding include Saudi Crown Prince MBS’s $400 million Serene yacht, and Ije and Lana by Benetti. More than half of the industry’s revenue comes from the charter and use of these splendid vessels, nearly 38% from new builds, and around 3% from refits. Leading shipyards in Italy, such as Fincantieri, Benetti, and Sanlorenzo, specialize in constructing large, luxury vessels. The next time you see more superyachts at the Amalfi Coast and Sardinia than tourists, don’t be surprised. It is an industry geared to grow faster than Ferraris.

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Seized in Trieste, the Philippe Starck designed Sailing Yacht A is costing Italian tax payers $10 million+ a year for upkeep.

On the one hand, while Italy is making a lot of money from superyachts, there is a flipside where they are also bleeding money because of the seized floating palaces. Its been more than two years since Italy has seized the behemoth Sailing Yacht A, the world’s second largest sailing yacht, Lady M, the Scheherazade, and Lena Yacht, along with three more superyachts from wealthy Russian oligarchs. The taxpayers did not share this gusto and paid over $35 million to maintain the pleasure crafts.