The Ministry of Finance has cleared up a mystery regarding boat rental operators in the south of Gran Canaria. Several companies that have several vessels that carry out regular maritime transport services for passengers between the ports of Pasito Blanco, Arguineguín, Anfi del Mar, Puerto Rico and the port of Mogán have asked the Government of the Canary Islands to clarify whether the IGIC is applicable to the type 0%.
The officials have issued a binding response, which Maspalomas24H has accessed, in which the Treasury indicates that "the zero rate of the IGIC would not be applicable to the regular maritime passenger transport service provided by the consulting entity between different ports on the same island. , given that, according to the circumstances described together, it appears that it carries out complementary activities that would allow this service to be classified as tourist, recreational or leisure transportation, and, consequently, the general rate of 7 percent would apply."
At the moment, where the Treasury has not entered is the rental of boats under the Airbnb umbrella. Inevitably, this influx of visitors has had an impact on prices - and local sentiments -, with a 12% increase in the average price of hotel rooms, up to 135 euros per night. Which could explain why the maritime alternative has also increased. In the last decade, several boat rental platforms have emerged where private owners can rent them to others for trips or recreational fishing.
Among them are Boataffairs, Band of Boats, Borrow a Boat, Beds on Board, Boatsetter, SamBoat, Getmyboat and the largest platform in Europe, with two million users and 55.000 boats for rent, Click&Boat. "Boat rental has grown by 42% in the last two years," explains Edouard Gorioux, co-founder of Click&Boat, to the economic newspaper 'Cinco Días'. Gorioux assures that the Click&Boat market almost doubled between 2019 and 2022 and that, of its income of 200 million euros last year, 15% was generated in Spain.
The company, which processes a boat reservation every 18 seconds and increases its fleet of electric boats, says that the average price for a day of sailing is 350 euros for six people, including overnight stays, less than 60 euros per head. Click&Boat recommends May to September as the optimal season for sailing. Borrow a Boat offers charters in 60 countries, while Click&Boat covers 164.
