COASTAL TOURISM Index to Advertisers AMI Conference & Expo 2021, USA 34 ASAR/GCM Safe Harbour Drystacks, USA 28 Bellingham Marine, USA 7, 9 & 11 Bluewater Marine & Dock, USA 40 Boatlift, Italy 22 Capria, Argentina 33 Conolift by Kropf Industrial, Canada 40 D-Marin, Turkey 6 Den Hartog Industries, USA 54 Dual Docker, Austria 46 Dura Composites, UK 38 Eaton Marina Power & Lighting, USA 26 Flovac, Spain 51 GH Cranes & Components, Spain 42 Gigieffe, Italy 31 Golden, USA 60 HydroHoist, USA 57 IMCI, Belgium 52 Ingemar, Italy 12 Inland & Coastal Marinas, Ireland 28 Lindley, Portugal 42 Livart Marine, China 52 Lumberock Premium Decking, USA 56 Marex, Croatia 54 Marina Master by IRM, Slovenia 56 Marina Projects, UK 16 MarinaGo by Scribble Software, USA 44 Marinas21, Australia 38 Marinetek, Finland 4 Martini Alfredo, Italy 18 Pacsoft, New Zealand 42 Pick a Pier, Israel 24 Raviv Consulting Engineers, Israel 56 Rolec Services, UK 10 Ronautica, Spain 44 Roodberg – a brand of Frisian Industries, Netherlands 46 SF Marina System, Sweden 2 Seaflex, Sweden 8 Superior Group, Australia 46 Swedeship Sublift, Sweden 56 TIVA Building Products, Canada 52 ThruFlow, Canada 59 Titan Deck, USA 52 Twinwood by Soprefa, Portugal 34 Walcon, UK 24 Wiggins Lift Co, USA 37 Learn from the past, prepare for the future As we live under the cloud of a global pandemic, it’s time to think differently about many aspects of business. Idan Cohen, chairman of the Marine Innovations Association and head of Pick a Pier, a service aimed at helping marinas make the best use of digital technology, urges us to evaluate new opportunities. With air travel limited and complicated at the moment, people are choosing to spend their vacations on the local shores, with yachts and maritime sport activities becoming more popular than ever. This phenomenon is growing exponentially. The sea has always served as an escape from daily life with its addictive sense of freedom, and today even more so. The importance and potential of coastal tourism are rising. And, naturally, boating will rise and grow with it. Sailing, economy and history Large-scale social and economic crises aren’t new to humanity. At the beginning of the second millennium BC, when the eastern shore of the Mediterranean started developing, ports thrived and dozens of small villages were built from the shores of Lebanon to the north of Sinai. The main ones were Akko, Jaffa and Ashdod (incredibly all still standing to this day). The sailing channels, which were mainly developed alongside the shoreline, started extending to the west, to Cyprus, Crete and other Greek Islands. But then, geo-political changes brought a tremendously destructive cultural and economic crisis towards the end of the millennium. In history, this crisis is referred to as the Late Bronze Age Collapse. This crisis had an immediate effect on the area’s coastal cities, weakening the majority of them. But what’s interesting about this era is not the crisis, and not even the impact it had on maritime activity. The interesting part about it is what followed; the development of Ancient Greece or, in other words, the world as we know it today. The present Today, in 2020, we are experiencing another crisis. It is embodied in economic upheaval, social distancing and great uncertainty. In such moments, we can do two things: panic and stay blindfolded by uncertainty, or we can take our skills and knowledge and navigate our way towards new and better pathways. We are currently entering a new era of social and economic possibilities. As difficult as it might be seeing this right Idan Cohen (second from left) with TransEurope Marinas and Pick a Pier colleagues. now, this unfortunate and unexpected chain of events that we are experiencing will create new and promising tourism opportunities for private marine businesses, coastal cities and governments. The future There are hundreds of marinas globally that see this challenge as an opportunity – a chance to renew and enhance the trend of coastal tourism. With the sea now being a preferred place for leisure activity, we are seeing a gradual change in the perception of the yachting world as well. Yachting is slowly becoming more accessible to the public, with groups of friends or families enjoying the experience of freedom and connectivity together. When we’re speaking of marinas, it is important to remember that we’re also speaking of commercial centres, real estate, nightlife, services, and a community that the marina supplies for the boaters upon berthing. This is not just coastal tourism, it is a world of business opportunities. When recreational boating becomes more accessible, it creates and grows new markets. And that’s important news for all stakeholders in the maritime industry. We are all familiar with the phrase ‘learn from the past, prepare for the future, live in the present.’ With the on-going global challenges, this quote represents a reminder for us that we do have the power to navigate our way into a better future by taking action now. Together, we can prepare and build for the future by using and learning from our past experiences. Let’s start now. 58 www.marinaworld.com – September/October2020
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