MARKET UPDATE: ITALY
Gianni Rotice, president of Gespo, expects a ten-year return on the €54 million invested in Marina del Gargano. the pockets of the marina entrepreneurs. They have Marina d’Arechi, which opened in 2012, has packed its calendar with events and opens its final phase invested between €40,000 of berths this summer. and €90,000 on each berth constructed in marinas a miserable 15% foreign presence. This industry showed growth, this was not that may now go out of business thus is not good. We need to have a goal of due to any policies that were targeted generating overall losses estimated at at least 30/35% and must find ways to in our favour.” hundreds of millions of euros. Austerity promote at an international level.” Albertoni believes that in order to find measures, so greatly favoured by the UCINA is working with sector a remedy a dose of reality is essential. EU and the Italian Government in associations Assomarinas and Assonat “Our labour costs are the highest 2012, have resulted in a dramatic drop and the national tourism agency in Europe, our energy costs are the in nautical activity and public purse ENIT to devise a system. “We are highest and we have infrastructure revenue has fallen from €970 million in trying to find a unique way to present problems. Yet there are still those who 2009 to €462 million. our nautical tourism and I hope that propose a return to manufacturing However, despite the negative impact of government measures and the bad press associated with the arrest of Francesco Bellavista Caltagirone with regard to marina plans for Imperia and Fiumicino (both blocked as the legal process continues), the industry fights back. “Our ability to move forward on our own regardless of the general situation is not in question,” confirms Anton Francesco Albertoni, president of Italian marine association, UCINA. “After all, even when the nautical
as a driver of the economy,” he says. “This is an illusion if the manufacture is not connected to services such as tourism.” He stresses the importance of assessing the country’s true strengths and the need to market these assets overseas. “Four to five years ago, 110% of our berths were occupied by Italians. Unlike the marine manufacturing companies who have always exported, marinas did not feel the need for overseas marketing. Today, this lack of international visibility has translated to
marinas will follow us,” Albertoni says. In the meantime, marinas will continue to face penalties. “Those who suffer most are in Sardinia and the north, on both the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas. This is due to the higher concentration of maxiyachts, which are subject to tireless tax audits, and also because going to France from Liguria and Tuscany is as easy as going to Croatia and Montenegro from the Adriatic. As is well known, if Sardinia loses a boat it loses it forever. This is happening.” Some respite will be granted this summer thanks to tax relief measures introduced by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the establishment of a Central Electronic System for boats and a flat-rate scheme for boat rental businesses. But there are still plenty of problems. “We used to complain about the lack of facilities but now some are also saying that we actually have too many Marina di Ragusa in Sicily makes the most of its proximity to the UNESCO city of Ragusa and hosts a wide variety of visitor attractions.
www.marinaworld.com - May/June 2013
21