There is growing interest in recreational boating, but there is a lack of mooring opportunities. A shortage that is creating critical issues in the over 4 thousand companies in the sector. This is what is emerging from the first days of the international boat show in Naples, Navigare, underway at the Luise pier in Mergellina until Sunday 26th. An estimated 30 people attended the inaugural weekend alone, crowding the dock and floating piers of the event where over 100 boats between 28 and 5 metres are on display.
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“The entire Campania basin registers a need for at least 40-50 thousand berths for recreational boating and among these a good part in the Gulf of Naples – underlined the president of the Port Authority of Naples, Andrea Annunziata – Where the interests and needs of an entire population are contemplated we cannot ignore the need to find a solution to the problem, and that of moorings for recreational boating is an important aspect to be addressed.
We are ready, as a Port Authority, for the skills that concern us, to do our part so that logistical and infrastructural solutions can be found to obtain an expansion of availability and the construction of new Marinas in the city", he added.
Campania is short of 40 berths
“There is no doubt that the expansion of the exhibition area this year, with the addition of an additional 100-meter floating dock, with 200 meters of mooring available on both sides, has allowed us to present a broader and more complete offer – said the president of the Italian Nautical Industry Association, Gennaro Amato -. In these nine days you can see many of the jewels of Italian recreational nautical production, which is always a world leader in quality, from gozzi to inflatable boats, from boats to yachts. But the village also presents, with over 25 stands, the entire offer of the nautical industry with accessories, marine engines and services”.
Yet, despite a rich participation indicated in over 30 thousand visitors in the first days of the exhibition, there is a difficulty in the negotiations of sale. Most of the interested parties set a condition for the purchase: the guarantee by the seller to offer a mooring opportunity. "The purchase - added Amato - becomes more and more linked to the need for mooring, the boat is not a car that can be left on the street. Unfortunately, not even the comforting words of the mayor of Naples Manfredi, released on the occasion of the inauguration of the Show on Saturday, regarding a concrete plan on ports and pleasure boats, leave the users satisfied.
Here we risk stopping productivity and consequently forcing over 4 thousand companies to reduce staff or even close down and, ironically, we are talking about a sector that has been profitable for eight consecutive years and that churns out records every year, placing our region at the top of the production segment between 5 and 12 meters”, he concluded.
Article published on November 21, 2023 - 14:47
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