Monaco will host the superyacht industry’s first event dedicated exclusively to refit and maintenance, after Informa Prestige, the owner of the Monaco Yacht Show, announced ‘The Future of Refit’, to be held at the Grimaldi Forum from 31st March to 2nd April 2027.
The three-day event will be staged in partnership with the Yacht Club de Monaco, which will host an on-water display of refit yachts in its marina. It forms part of the club’s ‘Monaco, Capital of Advanced Yachting’ initiative, which brings together industry stakeholders around innovation, modernisation, performance and sustainability, and follows earlier YCM projects such as the SEA Index for measuring and reducing yachts’ carbon footprint and the annual Monaco Energy Boat Challenge, whose 14th edition runs from 29th June to 3rd July 2027.
A market worth billions
For Informa Prestige, a luxury division of the events group Informa that also owns the title Boat International, the launch targets a sector of growing commercial weight. The global superyacht refit market is estimated to be worth between $3 billion and $5 billion a year and to be growing at 6 to 9 per cent annually, accounting for around 36 per cent of earnings across the superyacht sector.
The market is underpinned by a global fleet of more than 6,000 active superyachts over 30 metres, a large share of which is now entering its first or second major refit cycle following the construction boom of the 2000s and 2010s. Owners typically spend around 10 per cent of a yacht’s value each year on operations and upkeep, with major refits every five to 10 years. The organisers point to tightening environmental regulation, sustained charter-market demand, limited new-build capacity at leading yards and the growing technical complexity of modern yachts as forces likely to keep refit work in demand.
Filling a gap in the calendar
Held over three days at the Grimaldi Forum, the event will combine a conference programme and professional exhibition with the on-water display at the Yacht Club de Monaco. At its centre is ‘Refit Live’, an interactive forum of keynote speeches, roundtables, case studies and workshops, including daily sessions led by the BOAT International editorial team.
“Refit is no longer a secondary consideration within the superyacht industry — it is one of its defining economic realities,” said Toby Moore, chief executive of Informa Prestige. “It is the right conversation, in the right place, at the right time — in Monaco, in the spring, at a moment in the superyacht calendar that is genuinely uncontested.”
Informa Prestige said it would develop the event in dialogue with the refit community, engaging shipyards, industry bodies, equipment suppliers and specialists, with further details on the programme, confirmed participants and exhibition opportunities to follow in the coming months.
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Photo source: Grimaldi Forum Monaco