Yacht club turnover equivalent to 1.9% of Balearic GDP

Researchers from the economics and business faculty at the University of the Balearic Islands gave these figures at a presentation on Thursday. They have been studying the social and economic benefits of yacht clubs, of which there are 24. Their combined budgets in 2019 were 56.2 million euros, of which 14.7 million went on salaries and social security. Of the 3,833 jobs, 1,132 were direct.

The yacht clubs managed 8,245 moorings, eighty per cent of which were occupied by clients from the islands. In 2019, 7,748 students participated in training activities, in particular those linked to sailing schools. Most of the clubs had sports teams, e.g. sailing and canoeing, with 1,289 registered participants. Over a three-year period, the report notes that there were 366 competitions and regattas.

Rafael Palmer, manager of the Association of Balearic Nautical Clubs, said during the videoconference presentation that it was too early to know what the impact of the pandemic is on the clubs. Their season begins at Easter and runs until September, with the heaviest concentration of activity being in July and August.

The president of the association, Miguel Suñer, explained that all the resources generated by the yacht club sector are reinvested in the maintenance of facilities and in the support given to sporting activities.