Located in the Gulf of Poets, Porto Mirabello enjoys a prime position in the heart of one of the Mediterranean’s most popular superyacht cruising destinations. With 100 berths catering for yachts up to 140m, the marina has witnessed first-hand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on superyacht traffic in the region.

Porto Mirabello remained open throughout the country’s lockdown, and the marina reported the first signs of hope for the summer in April, receiving berth requests from charter companies in particular, accompanied by confident signals from Middle Eastern and Russian clients.

“This summer, we have seen a good number of yachts up to 45m, many of which have been Italian and European clients...”

Since then, a lot has changed. Due to its strict lockdown, Italy was one of the first countries in the Mediterranean to open up and, unlike many of its neighbouring countries, has not yet seen a second spike in COVID-19 cases. However, with many nations around the world, including key markets for the superyacht industry, still in crisis, global travel is still significantly restricted.

As a result, Barbara Martinelli, sales manager at Porto Mirabello, is reporting positive levels of superyacht traffic in the marina from certain market segments. “This summer, we have seen a good number of yachts up to 45m, many of which have been Italian and European clients,” she explains. “In terms of yachts over 45m, the situation has been a little different since a lot of Russian and American clients could not travel to the area, but we had a few transits anyway.”

Despite a lack of business from the larger end of the market, Martinelli is still optimistic; “We have been helped in revenue by our stable clients and Italian yacht owners who decided to spend their holidays in Portofino, Porto Venere, Elba Island, etc.”

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