Yachtingpages.com is getting more use than ever. Part way through the summer season and the marine industries leading superyacht directory is racking up 11,000 page views per week.

Ports and marinas headed up the list of top categories searched, followed closely by yacht agents. This correlates directly with the reported increase in charter bookings this season.

David Price, from leading yacht management company Hill Robinson said, “The current demand for charter has been outstanding. Compared to last year we have received at least three times as many enquiries in 2013. Although there has been no increase in the size of our fleet, the growth has been exponential. We have had an excellent May following the Genoa Boat Show and July is looking to be even better, boosted we think by the end of the ‘French Commercial Exemption’.”

French and Spanish marinas continue to flourish, with crowds still shying away from Bella Italia because of the complicated legislation involved when mooring there. Will the predicted 9.8% effected VAT rate starting from July 15^th change this? Most think it will be much of a muchness. Italy will be the cheaper destination once the commercial exemption kicks in, but barring the need to register in France there will be no need to involve a third party when mooring there.

Although this will mean there are a greater number of  attractive berths for captains and owners to choose from, many are secured in advance by yacht agents and they need to go through them to secure a booking. The high number of searches for yacht agents on the Yachting Pages site confirms that business is on the up and it will be very interesting to see if Italy or France come out on top.

Yachting Pages have certainly seen improvements in the last year, and in reality the changes in tax legislation will simply even up the playing field, make more superyacht destinations accessable in the Mediterranean and boost the industry as a whole.

Whatever happens  we will be able to tell you at the end of the season by looking at the web statistics and where most searches have come from.  Currently France is in the lead but who knows what the summer will bring…

For further information about Yachting Pages, visit www.yachtingpages.com.