On 8 October 2021, the Blue Planet Economy European Maritime Forum was held online. It brought together different representatives from trade associations, innovative SMEs, investors, research centres and institutions to exchange their views on the future of the Blue Economy.

Speaking at the panel on “Tourism: between infrastructures and logistics 2020-2030” was EBI Secretary General Philip Easthill, who highlighted that the sustainable transition in Europe, also coming from the European Green Deal, is crucial for the recreational boating sector and requires appropriate political measures. On top of that, he added that marinas and boating companies cannot face substantial investments by themselves in a short amount of time and needs governmental support at national and EU Ievel.

EBI further underlined the need for measures that can enable the industry to grow sustainably in the future, such as reduced VAT rates, as an important element to steer tourism demand, which needs to be adapted to ensure that the entire tourism sector can benefit from uniform VAT rates. Another element are the Taxonomy criteria, currently being developed at EU level to define green investment, which needs to consider the full spectrum of the boating sector, including marinas, yachting and take into account the transition requirements of the sector. Also on the panel were Stefano Pagani Isnardi from Confindustria Nautica and Roberto Perocchio from ASSOMARINAS.