In a sector that likes to show off its brilliance, few dare to ask this essential question: What is luxury today?
Kaloyan Radulov, CEO ofOmaya Yachts, invites a salutary introspection within the nautical industry. According to him, times have changed, and with them, the expectations of owners and charterers. Luxury is no longer measured in engine horsepower or meters of hull, but in the quality of life on board, the privacy offered and the richness of the moments experienced.
Omaya Yachts: a breath of fresh air in thoughtful luxury
Born from a desire to reinvent the codes of yachting, Omaya Yachts is a family business that embodies a bold vision of modern luxury: more intimate, more functional, and deeply human. Led by CEO Kaloyan Radulov, the brand deliberately moves away from flashy standards to offer units designed as living spaces, where design seeks not to impress but to soothe.
Le OMAYA 50, their first model, is the perfect illustration: a motorized catamaran that combines space, comfort and discretion, designed for those who are looking not for a social symbol, but an authentic on-board experienceTrue to its philosophy of “lived luxury”, Omaya Yachts places real use at the heart of every decision, so that every trip out to sea is a moment of well-being and freedom.
The mirage of numbers: when specs take precedence over the essential
For decades, nautical brochures have vied with each other in technical superlatives: top speed, engine power, spectacular design. But according to Kaloyan Radulov, this obsession with figures ends up generating units that are impressive on paper... but cold and impersonal once on board. However, as the luxury automotive and fine hotel industries have already understood, the human and sensory experience is today's true added value.
"We need to stop designing for yesterday and start thinking for tomorrow", says the head of Omaya Yachts. Without this rethink, the industry runs the risk of becoming obsolete, of no longer speaking the language of a new generation of customers, who are looking for more than just a status object: they are looking for meaning.
From flashy to authentic: when luxury becomes discreet
Until recently, nautical luxury was expressed through excess: gilding, glossy woodwork, formal lounges, and crews in white gloves. The yacht was then the ultimate totem of social success, the object of absolute desire. But this image, now dated, is fading in the face of a new paradigm, carried by younger, more conscious, more discreet owners.
Today, wealth no longer needs to shout. “Quiet luxury” or discreet luxury is establishing itself as the new standard: a lifestyle Clean, sophisticated but not ostentatious. Simple lines, noble and durable materials, ergonomics designed for relaxation rather than for show.If money spoke before, it whispers today", Radulov sums up aptly.
Omaya Yachts: a new answer to a new question
It is from this observation that Omaya Yachts was born, a family shipyard that wants to break with conventions. Their flagship model, theOMAYA 50, is not a simple catamaran, but an embodied vision: that of a yacht conceived as a floating cocoon, as comfortable as a second home, as friendly as a beach club, and as secluded as a private island.
"Every design decision was made with real-world usage in mind, not to make a splash at a trade show.", explains Radulov. On board, the space is fluid, the volumes are open, the electronics disappear behind comfort. Here, luxury is not about showing, but about feeling.
Redefine luxury… or be overtaken
The message is clear: yachting must rethink its message if it wants to continue to attract customers. The era of gadget yachts, a showcase of exuberance, is coming to an end. Today's customers, and even more so tomorrow's, are seeking freedom, serenity, and authenticity. They prefer a secluded anchorage to a crowded marina, an evening with friends to an ostentatious party.
And this isn't a passing fad, but a profound cultural shift. Like Omaya Yachts, the brands that understand this will be the ones that continue to sail far ahead. In a world searching for meaning, nautical luxury can no longer be content with simply shining. It must move, connect, soothe... live.
Patrick Koune
