Superyacht boom pumps millions into Gold Coast economy during coronavirus pandemic

The closure of international and state borders has hit the city’s economy hard, but superyachts have continued to dock and owners are spending up big.

WORK on luxurious superyachts has resulted in an estimated $15 million being pumped into the Gold Coast economy and $38 million into the state economy since March.

Superyacht Australia, the peak body representing the industry, said maintenance was carried out on 25 vessels across Queensland.

The closure of international and state borders had hit the city’s economy hard, but superyachts were continuing to dock for work.

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At the beginning of the year vessels were sailing from the Mediterranean and Caribbean to the Pacific for the Tokyo Olympics – which was then postponed – and the America’s Cup in New Zealand in 2021.

But the COVID-19 pandemic and limits on travel led to a surge in inquiries for work.

Oneworld, the largest capacity superyacht in the world. File image.

“Vessels brought forward their next two years worth of planned maintenance when it became obvious that guests would not be able to travel and enjoy the use of the vessels for some time,” Superyacht Australia CEO David Good said.

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Queensland was hailed by the industry body as the “dominant refit and maintenance provider for superyachts in the Asia-Pacific region”.

Eight separate facilities across the state employed 2300 tradesmen, rivalling what was available in the US and Europe. These included the Gold Coast’s The Boat Works and Gold Coast City Marina.

Mr Good said Queensland was already getting an 80 per cent increase in economic contribution from superyachts year on year.

Work on superyachts has injected $16m into the Queensland economy since March.

He said it was fortunate the vessels have been allowed to enter the state during the global pandemic, but it was essential captains and crews abided by strict quarantine rules “so that these thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of economic contribution are not put at risk”.

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“Any individual that doesn’t want to abide by those procedures needs to think of the thousands of workers whose livelihoods they are putting at risk by their selfish behaviour,” Mr Good said

“We look forward to continuing to work with government in ensuring safe procedures that allow quarantine in transit and on-board that does not put the community at risk and allows this important industry to continue.”

A range of glamorous superyachts will be on display at the Sanctuary Cove Boating Festival at Sanctuary Cove from November 13-15.

The new event emerged to fill the gap left by the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, which was cancelled due to COVID-19.