IMPACT OF YACHT TOURISM ON A SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Authors:   Odessa National Maritime University, Navrozova Yuliia , Savelieva Iryna ,   Odessa National Maritime University
Published: December 2024

he goal of a paper is to research the role of yacht tourism in the world and regional economies and assess its impact on the sustainable development of the economy.In 2021, the global yachting market was $33,864.93 million and is projected to reach $66,106.8 million by 2028.In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, yacht tourism has experienced an increase in demand as tourists are more inclined to move away from mass tourism and move towards a more individual and private type of travel.According to a 2021 report from the International Yacht Manufacturers Association, around 3,900 yachts were built in the world in 2020.In Europe, a third of tourism revenue comes from the yachting business. 566 billion euros was generated by the industry in 2020. In total, the European yacht tourism market has 36 million tourists and yachtsmen.If we analyze the global marina market, then the undisputed leader in this business is the United States, in which there are more than 12,000 marinas according to 2021 data. In second place by a wide margin is the United Kingdom, which had 2,500 marinas by the start of 2021.More than 367,000 sailors and yacht attendants are employed on more than 7,000 superyachts operating in the world market. Chefs and stewards were in the greatest demand -57% of the increase.Including sailors and yacht attendants, a total of 3.5 million people are involved in the yacht tourism, which underlines its importance for maritime countries.Yacht tourism plays an important role in achieving several UN sustainable development goals: clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; conservation and sustainably use of marine resources.The paper formulates ways to achieve the sustainable development of yacht tourism, the main of which include the transition of yachts to alternative energy sources, which will reduce CO2 emissions, the use of effective wastewater treatment systems on yachts, control over the number of yachts in certain ecological zones, and restriction of their movement to prevent erosion and other vulnerabilities, prohibition of anchorages on coral reefs, creation of new jobs with high salary, development of tourism infrastructure and tourism services in coastal cities.Despite the positive impact of yacht tourism on sustainable development, this sector can also have a negative impact, for example, an increase in fuel consumption, CO2emissions, electricity and other resources, poor waste disposal and uncontrolled discharge of spent fuel, sewage from yachts, increased coastline erosion due to wave activity and anthropogenic impact, overload of local infrastructure and increased pressure on sanitation systems, pollution of drinking water sources, damage to coral reefs.To have a positive impact on sustainable development, a yacht tourism must be managed, environmentally responsible and socially oriented.It is important to manage yacht tourism in a sustainable manner and take appropriate measures to minimize negative impacts.Keywords: yacht tourism, yacht, sustainable development, marinas, environmental responsibility