Trends in Marina Development

Boat & Motor Dealer, December 2002

International Trends in Marina Development
by Ron Stone

Judging by papers presented at ICOMIA’s 4th International Marina Conference in Sydney, Australia, several trends in marina development, already well established in previous years, grew even stronger in 2002.

Environmental Restrictions

Obtaining necessary permits is often the most painful aspect of a building project. Permitting agencies are often flooded with letters of objection, not to mention protests at public hearings from people concerned about negative impacts on water quality, fish and wildlife, shoreline stability, aquatic vegetation, and natural aesthetics. Such protests can kill a project outright or cause costly delays. Even after a developer makes a good-faith effort to eliminate or mitigate the grounds, the environmentalists refuse to relent, either suing to enjoin the project or forcing the developer to sue for a permit and help recoup the costs of the efforts to address the complaints.

EU Leads

If you thought the situation was getting out of hand in the U.S. with the Save the Manatee group, look what’s happening in Europe. Marina development has been effectively blocked in habitat-sensitive areas of many EU countries after the European Commission sued their national governments for failure to comply with the EU’s 1992 habitat protection directive for fish and wildlife preservation. Of course, marinas are small fry compared to industry and agriculture in the battle between nature and the growth of civilization, but because of the marine industry’s relatively small stature, they risk becoming casualties.

Bucking this negative trend, marina advocates argue that marina operators are in the vanguard of clean water efforts, voluntarily pledging to follow EPA-recommended best management practices. It is ironic that marinas and marina users, as a result of their high visibility on the water, often are falsely accused of being the source of pollution that often is traced to industry, agriculture, and municipal sewage plants. Isn’t it time the marina industry took the offensive by documenting that they are more the victims than the perpetrators of pollution?

U.S. Supports

On a more encouraging note, governments continue to show interest in marinas as a way of capitalizing on their natural resources and boosting the economies of underdeveloped or industry-poor regions.

The Boating Infrastructure provisions under the Wallop-Breaux Act authorize federal aid to marinas willing to invest in transient dockage for cruising yachts that bring visitors to areas of cultural interest. This will likely be reauthorized in the next session of Congress. Authorization of a pilot program to open federally managed man-made lakes to boating and fishing as part of a system of National Recreation Lakes is also favored.

Mexico Plans

Neighboring countries also promote tourism through marina development. The Mexican government is supporting La Escalera Nautica, or the Nautical Staircase project, a $1.9 billion project to build a network of marinas along the Baja Peninsula. The aim is to attract up to 76,000 recreational boaters a year, particularly from California. It is believed that marinas and nautical tourism will not only boost the regional economy but also bring electricity, water, and jobs to the Baja.

Cuba Constructs

The Cuban government sees marina development as the wave of the future for bringing tourists to its shores. Currently, there are only 19 marinas with 696 slips in Cuba. Many of these have been widened and improved in the past few years to attract megayacht traffic. A second phase of development, begun in 2000, consists of building new facilities in tourist regions. A third phase involves building new marinas in remote regions to guarantee safe and comfortable navigation along the Cuban coast. By 2010, Cuba will have 38 marinas with 6,422 slips. Interestingly, most of the boating tourists are expected to be from the United States. Already, 69 percent of all private recreational watercraft visiting Cuba are from the U.S.

Ireland Invests

Further afield, Ireland plans to invest more than 25 million Euros in government funds for a “necklace of marinas around the Irish coast.” Over the next four years, it is expected that other public and private sector investments will boost the stake in water-based tourism to more than 40 million Euros.

The Netherlands Promotes

To fill an economic void on inland waterways where commercial barge traffic has diminished, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs is investing in “Sailing Through Holland,” an advertising program for sightseeing holidays by boat. It furnishes route maps for touring the area.

Italy Streamlines

Italy has streamlined its marina permitting process, which until recently had traditionally been hamstrung by local bureaucracy. In the past four years, 38 new marinas with 18,492 berths (a 39 percent increase over pre–1997 dockage) have been authorized. An additional 17,339 berths are planned. This is because the government recognizes the significant role of marinas in advancing Italy’s tourism and helping the economy of underdeveloped coastal communities.

Venice Doubles

Many coastal marinas, not just in the United States but all over the world, have reconfigured the size of their slips to take advantage of increasing megayacht business.

In Venice, Italy, city officials favor building a megayacht facility in the center of town. The volume of traffic in luxury yachts visiting Venice has doubled in recent years.

Team New Zealand’s America’s Cup victory in 1995 was the impetus for the city of Auckland to build more megayacht slips. It also helped solidify New Zealand’s reputation as the home of the superyacht building industry. The research and development in boat building materials and yacht rigging systems that assisted Team NZ in winning and defending the America’s Cup are used in the production of New Zealand-built superyachts. Today, there are 12 superyacht builders in the country, and export sales are at an alltime high.

The trend for national, state and local governments to contract with private enterprise to manage their facilities has been evident in the news in the past year.

Hawaii Leases

For example, Hawaii is seriously considering leasing management of the 799–slip Ala Wai Boat Harbor in downtown Honolulu, the jewel of the state boat harbors system. The state is operating with a budget deficit and can no longer afford to maintain the facility. Leasing the boat harbor to private developers will not only earn needed revenues for the state, but will also allow better marina maintenance, which has fallen into disrepair.

Greece Privatizes

Greece is hoping to move toward private management of three government-owned marinas in the Athens area. In fact, the Commercial Services Section in the U.S. Embassy in Athens has contacted local marina management companies to determine if they might be interested in bidding for involvement. The Ministry of Development is also reported to have plans for the development or expansion of 38 government marinas, which call for long-term leases to the private sector.

World Matures

Worldwide, the boating population is not only growing older, but the younger generation is not taking up boating as their parents and grandparents did. In the U.S., the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation is working with the boating and sport fishing industries on an ambitious program to counteract this trend and stimulate greater interest in the sport among all age groups. Because this is a matter of universal interest, there is even talk of making it a main theme of ICO–MIA's 5th International Marina Conference in San Diego early in 2005.

Meanwhile, marina operators should be alert to the opportunities in the demographics of current boat owners. Because older people need to be more healthconscious, they want recreational products and services that make it easier for them to enjoy themselves. They seek the kind of environment that will enable them to take refuge from daily life. Marinas that are willing to make the investment in this leisure time life style can profit.

Ron Stone is a senior advisor with the National Marine Manufacturers Association and chairman of the ICOMIA Boating Facilities Committee. He served as NMMA’s director of facilities and government relations for more than four decades. He is the founder of the States Organization for Boating Access.