Charter outlook for 2026: Resilience amid uncertainty

Welcome to Yacht Charter Market, the weekly newsletter dedicated to the world of yacht charter.

In today’s newsletter:

• Top story: What is shaping the superyacht charter market in 2026?

• What you missed: The Yacht Charter Market in April

• Charter Updates: 10 days for the price of 9 onboard La La Land | New CA for 32m Don Ciro | Cruise around Greece onboard Divine | Explore the Mediterranean onboard Sea Coral 2 | New CA for Northwind II | Omnia for charter with Charter World

• Superyacht Spotlight: Stunning 97m Feadship Sophia from up close 💫

TOP STORY

What is shaping the superyacht charter market in 2026?

With the Mediterranean charter season just around the corner, features writer, Enrico Chhibber, speaks with industry experts to gain insight into how the 2026 charter market is taking shape.

Expectations for the 2026 superyacht charter season remain broadly positive, but the market is showing clear signs of change. Enrico Chhibber spoke with brokers, executives and fiscal representatives, taking a look at shifting booking behaviour, evolving destination preferences and a more nuanced outlook of the season ahead. As a result, the market appears resilient, though increasingly shaped by a wider range of variables than in previous seasons.

Demand patterns and booking behaviour

Looking at charter market performance across the 2024 to 2025 season, several industry participants described activity as resilient, with some reporting year-on-year growth. Fraser Chief Executive Officer Anders Kurtén said the company saw a strong charter season and no sign of weakening demand. “I can only speak for us. We actually had a really good charter season last year,” he said. “If we look beyond euros and dollars and just focus on charter days, we tend to be somewhere just shy of 7,000 days of charter, and that is exactly where we were last season as well. We didn’t feel any softening of the market last season.”

Josh Cripps, a charter broker at Rocabella specialising in the 30 to 50-metre segment, offered a similarly positive assessment, noting that “the amount of weeks booked has increased”. While he acknowledged that ongoing geopolitical turbulence could influence market conditions, he suggested its effect may be more visible in booking behaviour, adding that “it might change the timeline of which yachts will be booked”, as clients wait longer before confirming or shift plans in response to external developments.

Kurtén also pointed to what he described as a “bifurcation in client behaviour”, a trend he said has become more pronounced over the past two to three years. “On the one hand we have more last-minute charters,” he notes, including bookings for large yachts made only days before embarkation. “On the other hand, we have more bookings now for summer 2027, which is essentially a year and a half in advance.” He added that, while there is no clear explanation for the divide, the contrast between short-notice bookings and long-range planning is becoming increasingly evident.

A similar shift was observed by Alex von Stein, CEO of SOS Yachting. Drawing on the company’s activities across Spain, France and Monaco, Italy, Croatia and Greece, he said the 2025 charter season started later than in previous years, with “a noticeable increase in last-minute charter bookings compared with previous years”.

Destination trends and regional divergence

While the Mediterranean continues to dominate the global charter market, contributors indicated that demand is becoming more regionally varied within that broader picture. Kurtén said that, in a “normalised 12-month cycle”, around 65 percent of charter activity would typically take place in the Mediterranean, with that figure split roughly “60 percent in the Western Mediterranean and 40 percent Eastern Mediterranean”. He added that just under 30 percent of activity would usually fall in the Caribbean, with the remainder spread across South East Asia and other, more exotic destinations.

Within the Mediterranean itself, however, the Western basin continues to account for the strongest concentration of demand. Cripps said that “44 percent of all my bookings in 2025 were for Italy”, while “35 percent of the total bookings were in France”. In his view, this underlines the continued appeal of established charter hotspots, with the Amalfi Coast and the Côte d’Azur remaining “two of the most popular charter destinations in the world”. This broadly aligns with the view of von Stein, who said the Western Mediterranean “remains the preferred charter destination”, continuing to attract the majority of charter activity within European waters.

At the same time, both Cripps and von Stein pointed to rising momentum in parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. Cripps said that “Eastern Med has increased”, adding that “Turkey, specifically, has increased a lot”.

Von Stein, meanwhile, identified Greece as a particularly strong-performing market, attributing this to the continued implementation of the 28-day charter licence framework and the broader acceptance of the Yacht Engaged in Trade programme. In his view, these developments have improved regulatory clarity and made charter operations in Greek waters more accessible. “Greece is a clear example of how regulatory clarity combined with operational flexibility can directly stimulate charter activity,” he said.

Even so, Kurtén urged caution when interpreting growth in less established destinations. While acknowledging increased interest in more unusual cruising grounds, he noted that percentage gains can sound more dramatic than they are when measured from a very small base. As he put it, “I always urge caution when you report percentage increases, if the initial in-going numbers are really small.” For that reason, rising visibility in more niche markets may point to broadening client interest, but not necessarily to a major rebalancing of the wider charter market.

Outlook for 2026: resilience amid uncertainty

Looking ahead, expectations for the 2026 charter season remain positive, with several contributors pointing to encouraging early signals and forward bookings already in place. Cripps acknowledged that “most charter brokers in the business are always optimistic”, but added that broader instability remains impossible to ignore. Even so, he suggested that charter retains a degree of resilience, noting that “the 2026 season will be a good year for everyone; there are already some great bookings on the horizon”.

A similarly measured tone came from Kurtén, who said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the 2026 season, based in part on bookings already secured. His view reflects a wider sense that, while confidence remains intact, forecasting is becoming more difficult in an increasingly volatile external environment.

That caution was also reflected in feedback shared by von Stein, who said initial indications from clients were positive, with “early indications suggesting continued market strength”. At the same time, he noted that the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East had introduced uncertainty into the market. In his view, previous geopolitical events suggest there is a risk of reduced charter activity if North American owners and charter clients choose to postpone or redirect travel plans.

Ultimately, the charter market is entering 2026 from a position of resilience, though not without clear sensitivities. Demand appears to remain in place, yet the season ahead is likely to depend as much on external developments and client confidence as on the strength of the market itself.

This article was first published in issue 57 of the SuperYacht Times newspaper, available for download here.

What you missed: The Yacht Charter Market in April

In April, the Yacht Charter Market took a look at some hot charter yachts to cruise onboard this summer, such as the 50-metre Heesen, ELA, or the 50-metre Anjelif, with her metallic bronze hull. If sailing is more your cup of tea, check out the 34-metre sailing yacht Q.

We also highlighted changing VAT regulations in Greece and the largest yachts that attended the MYBA charter show in Sanremo, Italy last week. Of course it wouldn’t be a YCM newsletter recap if we didn’t highlight some of the best yachting reels, including those of Seanna, Malia & Faith.

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CHARTER UPDATES

SUPERYACHT SPOTLIGHT

@superyachttimes

Stunning 97m Feadship Sophia from up close 💫

Formerly known as Faith, she was delivered in 2017 by Feadship. She features sleek exterior by RWD with her signature flared bow and elegant sheerline, paired with naval architecture by De Voogt.

A standout? The glass-bottom pool with waterfall, casting natural light into the beach club below. Add a bow helipad with hangar, plus a full wellness setup (hammam, snow room, gym, cinema), and she’s built entirely around guest experience.

She is currently available for charter from €1,80M and accommodates up to 12 guests in seven staterooms, with a crew of 32.

Video by @superyachttimes