For nautical tourism to become more sustainable, different sectors of the industry need to pull together in the same direction. On the one hand, boat builders and marinas are dependent on the political framework and guidelines. On the other hand, the two sectors also need to agree with each other. Under the moderation of Martin Redmayne, representatives of the various sectors highlighted the challenges on the way to sustainable nautical tourism.
Michael Köhler (SILENT-YACHTS, Founder & CEO), Felix Leinemann (European Commission, Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Head of Unit), Hans Roelants (Sea Ray, General Manager for International Business), Dean Smith (D Marin, COO) and Bruno Thivoyon (Beneteau Group, CEO) discussed these issues at the blue innovation dock.
The leaders agreed that alternative propulsion represents the future of the boating industry. However, the progress of the industry does not lie in a single “silver bullet” solution, but in several parallel developments and combined approaches. This presents marinas with a major challenge as developing infrastructure is time-consuming and costly. Without knowing which structures modern boats will need in the future, it is not possible to build new facilities for electric charging or other alternative fuels. The demand towards politics as well as the boating industry on the part of the marinas is therefore to have clearly defined performance indicators and concrete information about the needs of modern yachts and boats.
While some representatives of the boating industry believe that the desire for change comes from the customer, others fear that innovation will not only be a step towards sustainability, but also lead to soaring costs for customers. For many boat owners, potential buyers or touristic users, buying or chartering modern boats and yachts may become unaffordable. In spite of this the goal should be to create viable innovation that is accessible for as many people as possible and to keep access to water-based tourism and the sector open to all. This goal was echoed by policymakers. Sustainability can be promoted whenyoung people in particular learn about the importance of the oceans and awareness of the environment, biodiversity and water sports is increased. A focus on the needs of the new generations is essential as the focus of this new group of buyers will be much more on sustainability.
