Good expectations with many challenges to overcome

The nautical sector has very good expectations for this season, although it faces various challenges such as "high consumer demand and little supply due to the lack of moorings, boats and personnel". This is stated by the president of the Nautical Association of the Pimeef, Ramón Van der Hooft, who affirms that, despite the circumstances, "there is positivism" among entrepreneurs, who want "that the consumer can continue to enjoy the Pitiusan waters".

One of the main drawbacks suffered by the nautical sector is "the increase in rates at the level of moorings and suppliers". "This forces us to raise prices and we are not convinced that the current economic situation allows it," says Van der Hooft, who says there are concerns about the economic situation and inflation.

Loss of competitiveness

Local companies based in Ibiza and Formentera also have other major competitors: those who come to do the season from other parts of the peninsula "without even having the obligation to have a mooring in a Balearic marina", details the representative of the nautical sector.

It is a constant arrival of catamarans, motorboats and sailboats that come to the island to charter for three months having their base in the peninsula. Not being moored, they pick up their clients from the beaches, where they throw the garbage, empty their entinas and sewage ... The situation is a disaster," says Alejandro Bonet, a lawyer specializing in nautical technology, of Almar Lawyers.

Ramón Van der Hooft explains that companies based in the Pitiusas pay higher prices in all areas (payroll, repairs, moorings, premises, commercial warehouses ...) and, in addition, generate jobs on the islands. However, the rest "can fill out and present a responsible declaration to the Balearic Government, paying a small fee, and can already operate with the same rights as us," he denounces. A situation that results in that, at the level of prices, these external companies are much more competitive, "but at the level of quality of service they can not give the same guarantees," says the professional.

Van der Hooft affirms that these companies that come from outside are also "the cause of saturating the coves of the Pitiusas" since, in his opinion, "in Ibiza and Formentera there is plenty of room in the coves to accommodate the boats that are based in the marinas".

From the Nautical Association they also affirm that local companies are subject to other taxes that only apply within the port area of the State Ports, such as the occupancy rate (for having a local) and the maintenance fee (for repairing and maintaining boats). "These are measures that make us lose competitiveness compared to other destinations such as Greece and Croatia," says Van der Hooft.

On the other hand, the president of the Nautical Association of the Pimeef trusts that the possibility of being able to rent boats of the seventh list for three months a year from 2024 does not apply in the Balearic Islands, as the representatives of the Merchant Navy and the Balearic Government transferred to them in a meeting they held in Menorca recently.

Other concerns of the nautical sector in Ibiza and Formentera are "the idea of creating a luxury tax for non-essential activities, the marking of bathing areas that leaves no possibility of anchoring in sandy soils and the implementation of buoy fields".

Lack of workers

The nautical sector does not escape the situation of shortage of workers that exists in Ibiza and Formentera. "We have the same challenges as other sectors. Especially to find maintenance and cleaning personnel we suffer a lot, "says the president of the Nautical Association, who says that many companies have begun to acquire flats to be able to give an alternative to the worker.

"We need people from outside to be able to complete the templates and for now it is very difficult for us to convince them to do a season in Ibiza", says Ramón Van der Hooft, who indicates that in the peninsula there is also a shortage of workers, an extreme that "is noticeable when it comes to finding and hiring staff". "Companies are going to have to take responsibility for the exorbitant price paid by workers who come to Ibiza to do the season."

SOURCE: Diario de Ibiza