BOATYARDS SAIL IN CHOPPY WATERS

BOAT repair and chartering companies belonging to PIMEM, the Majorcan small and medium-sized business association, have not fared well this tourist season.
Their poor performance comes in the wake of tax increases and the creation of others related to the new Port laws.
PIMEM confirmed yesterday that companies engaged in boat repair stopped work one month earlier than in previous years for lack of orders. The business season for such organisations begins in September and ends at the beginning of summer of the following year. Another badly affected sector has been the boat chartering industry where the fall in workload has registered 10 percent less than in previous years. However, the sector has managed to secure contracts until the end of October. Separately, the Nautical Companies sector of PIMEM will attend the next Monaco Boat Show, one of the first which opens the nautical trade fair calendar. Specialising in the industry of large yachts, the show will be held in Port Hercules in the Principality of Monaco from 22 to 25 September. Information leaflets about the PIMEM Association will be handed out in Monaco, detailing services provided by its members. Margarita Dahlberg, president of the Association, is due to attend the exhibition. She believes that the participation of the Nautical Companies sector in the Monaco trade fair is “an important promotional step”. In her opinion, the Balearics needs to focus future marketing activities for the nautical sector on key international fairs.