Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN

The world is in turmoil. The specter of global conflict lurks on the horizon. Energy prices are putting the squeeze on millions. Covid lingers. But in Monaco, at the yachting world’s most glamorous event, it’s business as usual.

This week, superyachts with a combined value of somewhere near $3.8 million gathered together in the azure waters of the tiny European principality for the 31st annual Monaco Yacht Show. And no amount of geopolitical anxiety could tarnish the glitz.

“All of the boats are here,” Johan Pizzardini, head of communications and media for the Monaco Yacht Show told CNN Travel on the eve of the four-day event’s grand finale. Some 118 superyachts were among the luxury vessels on display in the country’s Port Hercule.

The superyacht crowd were out in force too.

The show is specifically dedicated to the superyacht market. Every year, during normal times, an estimated 30,000 people descend on this tiny Mediterranean Riviera country to view the astounding spectacle of some of the biggest and most expensive superyachts in the world assembled in one place.

And while the event is undoubtedly an opportunity for wealthy boat owners to let their hair down in a safe space, sequestered away from the non-yacht-owning world, it’s also a chance to go shopping for yet more ocean-going opulence.

It is, as Pizzardini acknowledges, a “niche market.” But one that shows little signs of slowing down,…