Cluster Yachting Monaco: 10 years’ smooth sailing in the Principality
HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco surrounded by Bernard d’Alessandri, YCM General Secretary and President of Cluster Yachting Monaco, Edouard Mousny and Espen Oeino, Vice-Presidents of Cluster Yachting Monaco
Over 150 people attended Cluster Yachting Monaco’s 10th anniversary celebration on Tuesday 11th June. Guests included Prince Albert II, President of the Yacht Club de Monaco, who congratulated its members on their contribution to promoting the Monegasque yachting sector. “This initiative has become a reality. You are ambassadors of the yachting industry in the Principality. We want it to be as sustainable as possible over time but to also have an environmental purpose,” said the Sovereign.
YCM General Secretary Bernard d’Alessandri, Founder & President of the Cluster Yachting Monaco, added: “In ten years we have achieved many milestones, highlighting the strategic aspect of yachting in Monaco’s economy.” It is a platform for bringing industry players together and fostering dialogue with decision-makers, and is one of the first in the world to focus on yachting, with 90 company members.
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Common goals
By bringing together the different stakeholders from brokers to yacht designers, shipyards to equipment suppliers and many other professions, Cluster Yachting Monaco has played a vital role in creating a unique synergy to drive innovation and sustainable growth in a little-known industry.
The yachting industry currently represents 411 specialist companies in Monaco, generating 1,429 jobs and turnover of over €567 million. Its success is due to ten years of collective effort, and not only on the purely business aspect. Its President says “it has become the representative of the Monegasque yachting industry on the international stage, including at the most prestigious boat shows in the world, such as those in Dubai, Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Palma and Monaco.” The Cluster Yachting Monaco model has been followed beyond the Principality’s borders, since the competitiveness cluster has inspired and united yachting stakeholders to work towards common goals.
Setting a course for sustainable yachting
Six working groups at Tuesday’s event considered several areas of interest to the industry such as: Compliance-KYC, Brainstorming Destination Monaco, Spring and Winter Popups by the Cluster, International promotion, Partnerships and Sustainability, the energy transition.
“Monaco today has established itself as THE reference for the yachting industry,” says Peter Lürssen from the eponymous shipyard. He believes the Cluster “must keep going on this path of excellence and continue to inspire us to build a future for sustainable yachting”. As a federation, the Cluster will continue to play its role as an intermediary, facilitating exchanges, partnerships and ambitious projects, an objective based on a robust quality network and unique growth opportunities.
Togetherness and pragmatism on the horizon
It’s not going to be all plain sailing, however. “Despite the successes, we are aware that there is a long way to go. Many challenges remain if yachting is to become an exemplary sector in terms of economic performance, technological innovation and environmental responsibility,” Bernard d’Alessandri stressed. The aim is to develop training for talented youngsters, to further improve infrastructure, and to promote sustainable practices even more than at present – practices that are in line with the ambitions of the collective ‘Monaco, Capital of Advanced Yachting’ approach. In that spirit, many of the stakeholders present will be coming to encourage innovation among the younger generation during the 11th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge (1-6 July 2024).
Monaco’s yachting industry in numbers (source IMSEE):
- €567.1+ million in 2022
- 3% of the Principality’s total turnover
- 411 businesses based in the Principality
- 1429 onshore jobs (2.4% of the Monegasque workforce)