Description
The Key Role of Marinas in Nautical Tourism Today, recreational boating around the world is enjoyed in many different ways: deep sea cruising, inland river and canal boating, offshore fishing, water skiing, jet skiing, canoeing, and kayaking and rafting, among others. Marina developers are challenged to find ways of accommodating different boaters` needs for a variety of facilities and services. Thanks to an unusually long period of sustained economic prosperity worldwide, which affords people more leisure time to combine their love of boating with travel, there is an exciting new dimension to recreational boating facilities development, i.e.., building marinas as tourist destinations. Far-thinking developers do not limit themselves to satisfying the demands of local boaters who live in the area. In a global economy, where it is increasingly easy for water-loving tourists to visit from far and wide, both the marina and the broader tourist industries are awakening to the needs and desires of boaters as tourists. The purpose of this paper is to describe the key role that marinas can play in the development and promotion of nautical tourism around the world, particularly in Southeast Asia which is prime for discovery by recreational boaters who are looking for that rare blend of abundant, unspoiled natural marine resources and exotic cultures the region has to offer. However great your tourist attractions, nothing can be taken for granted in creating facilities and services for boating tourists. Do not make the mistake of thinking If we build it, they will automatically come. Recreational boaters have specialized needs that must be taken into account. According to boating industry research, the services most highly valued by cruising yachtsmen are safe drinking water, clean shoreside restrooms, sewage and waste disposal facilities, and safety precautions such as fire fighting equipment. Next come electricity, fuel availability and security. All other services are of secondary concern to boaters, even though they may be necessary in some cases. Modern day conveniences such as telephone and tv hookups at individual slips are nice but something that can be dispensed with, however, with the advent of the Internet and people`s increasing dependency on access to electronic communications, that may be subject to change. Also, with the marked increase in the number of megayachts, marinas are under pressure to enlarge the width and length of their slips and dockside electric power if they aim to capture that segment of the business.