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The Spanish boating industry is back in the black. Motorboats are gaining market share, while large vessels are posting strong growth. The charter market is also recovering, though it has not yet made up for its 2025 decline.
The Spanish market rose 7% over nine months
The Spanish recreational boating market recorded 4,642 registrations between January and September 2026, compared with 4,339 during the same period in 2025. This represents a 7% increase, according to figures published by the National Association of Spanish Nautical Companies (ANEN), based on data from the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine. In September alone, 271 vessels were registered, a 6.3% increase from the previous year.
Growth is driven in particular by motorboats. With 2,004 registrations, this category grew by 16.2% and now accounts for 43.2% of the market. Jet skis reached 1,319 units, up 1.1%, while inflatable boats rose 8.2% to 555 units. Rigid-hulled inflatable boats, however, declined by 4.1%, with 473 registrations. Sailing boats remained stable at 210 units.
Vessels over 12 meters in length are growing rapidly
The market remains dominated by small recreational boats: boats up to 6 meters in length accounted for 3,149 registrations and represented 67.8% of the total volume. However, the strongest growth came from vessels longer than 12 meters.
The 12- to 16-meter segment grew by 38% year-over-year, while the segment for vessels over 16 meters grew by 51%. Units in the 6- to 8-meter range increased by 10.5%, to 886 registrations, and those in the 8- to 12-meter range rose by 3.9%, to 369 units.
For industry professionals, this trend therefore puts the overall +7% figure into perspective: small pleasure boats still account for the bulk of sales volume, but growth is significantly stronger in the larger boat segments.
The charter is on the rise again, with no signs of a return to 2024 levels
The Spanish charter market is also on an upward trajectory. 1,440 charter boats were registered over the first nine months, an increase of 8.1% compared to 2025. However, this recovery remains incomplete: the volume is still 12.9% lower than that recorded during the same period in 2024.
Once again, larger vessels stand out. Registrations for charter vessels rose by 40.3% in the 12- to 16-meter range and by 68.4% for vessels over 16 meters. The Balearic Islands are the leading geographic market, with 353 charter vessels, accounting for 24.5% of the national total.
The results for the first nine months of 2026 thus paint a picture of a Spanish market on the mend, though with widely varying trends across segments. The motorboat and large-vessel segments are growing rapidly, while the charter segment has not yet fully recovered from the decline observed previously.
