Nautical tourism in danger of setting sail elsewhere

This week the Bulletin has been talking to a number of people involved in the local nautical industry with the charter season just around the corner and yesterday the Association of Marinas (ANADE) summed up the industry's fears. The Association's president, Bartomeu Bestard, warned yesterday that the Balearic nautical industry is in “danger” of losing out to other Mediterranean destinations if the authorities continue to limit the sector's development. An overriding consensus of opinion of the industry is that neither the local government, tourism authorities nor the port authorities appreciate just how important the nautical industry is to the local economy and that there is a huge demand for moorings and boat yard space. At the moment there is a queue of over 60 boats which want to get up on to the hard in Palma boat yard ahead of the season, but the boat yards are working flat out. Because of their highly professional reputation, many yachts have already been booked in for Autumn refits and repairs before moving on to winter charter grounds. Bestard yesterday called on the authorities to lift the restrictions “contrary to what people think, the nautical tourism industry does not damage the environment, in fact it does the opposite, we have to protect it in accordance with the wishes of people who use marinas.