Types of Yacht Chartering as a Touristic Service Preferred by Families and Developments in the Yacht Industry from the Past to Today's Pandemic Crisis

Abstract

As an alternative to mass tourism, yacht charter services are preferred by Families. Although it was preferred by young people who were used to the outdoor lifestyle initially for sailing, swimming and sportive activities, nowadays it is preferred by families with the increasing comfort on yachts. In the study, the effects of current developments, customer preferences, and market developments in yacht charter types have been examined. Observations are made in southern Aegean in Turkey, benefiting from unstructured interviews with summer fieldwork were created. One of the most important findings of the study is that families prefer it as a touristic journey. Most importantly, the reason for choices in social isolation can be more easily despite the contraction in the tourism sector during the pandemic crisis. As a negative development brought about by the pandemic crisis, the increase in travel bans and restrictions between countries has introduced extra obligations. Although the negative developments of 2020 prohibit the tourist season in 2020 the domestic market in Turkey has increased the number of charter yachts sailed in July. On the other hand, international yachting markets could perform their activities in a limited way because of travel bans. Keywords Yacht Chartering, Yacht Management, Maritime Tourism, Pandemic, Covid 19