Demand for isolated holidays during pandemic boosts Goa's yacht tourism

The yacht industry in Goa, which collectively owned nine vessels in 2019-20, now has 45, with the figure expected to rise to 55 by the start of the next season.

For Neeraj Gupta, it was a hobby that turned into a business idea. The 49-year-old engineer has been owning yachts — luxury watercraft generally used for pleasure — since 2007, which he would intermittently give out on rent whenever the request arrived. Such days, however, were rare.

A high-end yacht anchored in the Aguada bay at the mouth of the River Mandovi in Panaji. 

But the Covid-19 years turned things around for him. Gupta, who started off with three yachts when he first started letting them out on rent through bookings via aggregators in 2015-16, today owns nine boats of various sizes. The industry as a whole, which had around nine boats for hire at the start of Covid-19, now has around 45.

“Ours is the fastest growing sector in Goa’s tourism. Over the next year or so the number of yachts in operation is expected to go up to 55 considering all the orders placed,” Gupta said.

The yachts in question are luxury boats ranging from 25 feet (7.6 metres) to 66 feet (20.11 metres) in length that can host between six and 25 people at a time and can be hired for ₹6,500 per hour, for a minimum of two hours, to ₹45,000 per hour for boats that can host 25 people at a time. And that’s just for renting the yacht. Refreshments, food and drinks to be served on board, and other services such as live music, cost extra.

Despite the cost, bookings have been steadily pouring in. Bookings range from private parties hosted by ministers, elected representatives and businessmen from across the country, to sportfishing trips by foreign tourists. But by far the most popular form of booking is for stag and bachelorette parties and other wedding related functions like photoshoots.

“If you break down the cost per head, it works out to ₹1,500 to ₹1,800 which is not too dissimilar to what a group of people will end up spending at a restaurant if you were to dine with a large group. And with us you have the added benefits of unmatched views and ambience and a completely private and exclusive experience. For many this represents significant value. This, in a country where 99.9% of the population will never be able to afford to buy a yacht,” Gupta said.

And not without reason.

The cost of a yacht, the kind that operates in Goa’s waters, ranges from ₹65 lakh to ₹2.5 crore, excluding taxes and duties depending on where they are imported from. The cost of a luxury yacht from Europe ranges from ₹7 crore to ₹15 crore, depending on the level of luxury and size.

Yachts have been available for hire in Goa since 2002, but according to industry insiders, the market really picked up during the pandemic when having an isolated holiday experience was on the top of everyone’s checklist.

“A lot of tourists came to Goa after the lockdown at a time when the rest of the industry was closed and were looking for a private experience. Business picked up like no other,” Gupta added.

Since then, Goa has seen a proliferation of private jetties along River Mandovi, that ebbs and flows along the northern bank of the state capital. In the Mandovi river alone there are now nine private jetties located in various villages along the banks and islands within the river hosting pleasure craft of various sizes.

Gupta, who owned three yachts of various sizes prior to the pandemic, now owns nine with another two to be added to the fleet over the next one year. The overall industry in Goa, which collectively owned nine yachts in 2019-20, now owns 45, with the figure expected to rise to 55 by the start of the next season as operators expect pending deliveries to rectify over the next few months.

Goa: A yachting destination

That Goa would be an ideal destination for high-end nautical tourism has been known for a long time. Back in 2015, the Goa Investment Promotion Board granted its in-principle approval for the setting up of two marinas in the state — Yacht Haven will set up a 300-yacht marina in Sancoale along the southern bank of River Zuari, while another yacht marina ‘AHOY’ (Anytime Harbour of Yachts Pvt. Ltd) with a capacity of around 330 vessels including yachts, sail boats and other leisure vessels, is being planned along the northern bank of River Zuari, south of the capital Panaji in a fishing village. The former had sought 1.5-lakh square metres of water surface for the marina, while the latter around 1-lakh square metres.

However, over a decade later, neither of the projects took off as they got caught in the web of permissions, clearances and opposition by fishermen and locals.

But that hasn’t stopped the industry from growing. While Goa’s tourism industry reported a growth of around 10% year-on-year, the yacht industry saw a growth of 22%.

Yet the industry believes it is only just getting started.

“Goa’s advantage is that no one bothers you about what you wear, what you drink and how you celebrate. If you wear a bikini sipping champagne or beer on a boat in Goa, no one will bat an eyelid. The authorities will also not harass you. The same cannot be said for other places in India, which also have the potential to develop yacht tourism,” a yacht operator, who didn’t wish to be identified, said.

Goa’s reputation as a party destination has made it possible.

It was only in April this year that the Goa Tourism Department woke up to the scale of the industry and issued a circular directing “all water sports operators conducting the activity of yachting within the state to ensure strict compliance with the provisions of the Goa Registration of Tourist Trade Act”.

According to tourism director Kedar Naik, the circular was in response to a “growing number of operators found operating yacht activities without obtaining the necessary NOC, license or permission from the Department” and was with the intent to “regulate yachting services, enhance tourist safety, and ensure adherence to legal protocols”.

Industry insiders also conceded that rogue and fly-by-night operators who “don’t deliver on the boat they show in pictures” were doing a huge disservice to the industry that prides itself on offering a premium experience.

“There are a lot of agents and aggregators who sell services of boats which they do not own. They sell you the image of one boat in the brochure but when you arrive all decked up for your party there’s an ordinary boat waiting for you. You can’t even call them yachts,” the operator quoted above said.

Challenges faced by the sector

Operators believe that the growth in the yacht industry will have its limits, especially when it comes to the kind of experience one can offer.

“We have reached the limits of the price points we can offer here in Goa. Those who can afford to pay more are an extremely small percentage of people and they will simply choose to have the experience either in Europe or Maldives, Mauritius or Seychelles,” Gupta said.

“Even Dubai or Thailand won’t be options for them,” he added.

The clement weather, which allows for basking in the sun on a yacht deck in Monaco, Greece or Croatia, cannot be offered in Goa.

Operators have also faced issues in procuring quality boats domestically while imported boats attract an import duty of 54%.

“Almost all of the boats that we procure are imported. Locally made craft are simply not available in the size and quality we are seeking simply because of low volumes,” Gupta said.

“Import duty for yachts is placed at 54%. We believe that since we are primarily using the vessels not for personal pleasure, it should be charged at the 5% duty that is charged for excursions,” Gupta said. “The import duty on a private plane is 0%, why can’t it be similar for yachts?” he asked.

This isn’t to say there is no manufacturing locally.

Captain Dilip Dhonde, a Navy officer and the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe under sail and Commander Abhilash Tomy, the first Indian to solo circumnavigate the world non-stop undersail, did so on a sailing yacht — the INSV Mhadei — that was built at the Aquarius shipyard located at the Divar Island in Goa.

Another sailing yacht — the INSV Tarini — was used by the Indian Navy’s all-women sailing team to circumnavigate the world and is currently on the high seas as part of Navika Sagar Parikrama II, in which two women Navy officers are attempting to circumnavigate the world.

That the Indian Navy’s Ocean Sailing Node is located in Goa has only served to buttress the state’s claim as one of the country’s premier yachting hubs.

The fishermen aren’t pleased

It’s a title that has earned the ire of the state’s fishing community who believe that the yachting business will come at the cost of the community.

In a petition filed before the National Green Tribunal, two local fishermen belonging to traditional fisher communities and who depend on depend on fishing using traditional methods by using cast net, gillnet by using canoe in rivers for their livelihood have sought the declaration that “the nine private standalone jetties used for yachting by private persons/ tourists are impermissible in fishing villages and ward as notified under the Coastal Zone Management Plan and that allowing the continuation of such jetties has resulted in them suffering heavy losses due to over exploitation by tourism business in the river”.

“The only activities permissible in a designated fishing village (fishing ward identified as per the Draft Goa CZMP prepared by NCSCM) are those required for fishing and fishery allied activities,” the petition alleged. The National Green Tribunal has issued notices in response to the petition.

In April this year, when the Inland Waterways Authority of India approved a private jetty to be set up at the cost of ₹8 crore, it was quickly opposed by the local panchayat, who believed the village didn’t have the capacity to host larger activity without displacing local populations.

But the industry is not fazed.

“Goa currently has around 45 operating boats, while Dubai has 2,000. We are operating only in one of the state’s rivers whereas the state has the capacity to host cruises in others as well, particularly in the Chapora and Sal rivers,” Gupta added.

“A yachting trip has now become an important aspect of tourists’ Goa itinerary. What would take the experience even further is if there was a common jetty from where all the operators would set sail. In that way the consumer would have a wider choice and be able to choose his/her boat based on what he sees in front of him,” he said.

“For a business that promotes the sunset, we’re rising on the horizon,” he added.