Ramon van der Hoff: "We have to go for dry marinas and more ramps".

The Association of Nautical Industries and Services of Eivissa and Formentera, which belongs to the employers' association PIMEEF, is confident that last year's numbers can be matched, which were "very good" for the entire sector, according to Ramón van der Hoff, its president.

How has the season started for the nautical sector in Eivissa?
At the level of reserves it started well, but in May the weather did not help much; So, we've been forced to cancel a lot of bookings that ultimately we hope will pick up in the postseason months. July and August you take for granted that you work well, but there are also many expenses. For this reason, we usually say that the months of July and August are simply to balance our expenses and the pre- and post-season are the months that ultimately determine whether it has been a good or bad season.

Are you booking the same volume as last year or are you going above it?
We are more or less at the same level; maybe I would say that we are a little lower than last year. We are confident that they will be filled, but we also see that the economic situation makes people wait a little longer. We are not above last year if we talk about boat rentals. At the sales level, the curve is beginning to drop; We have had two years with a very, very good level of trading, but the problem has been supply. Right now the supply chains have recovered but we see that interest rates have gone up a lot and the consumer is going down a lot. We cannot speak of a crisis in the level of trading, but we see that the downward trend is already being seen.

In general, what expectations do you have for the calculation of the year?
If we can match the year 2022 it will be very good news because it was a very good year; It will be hard to beat because we don't have more facilities. In the end, marinas cannot grow in surface area, but we, for example, have always said why not bet on dry marinas, because you can have more boats on the same surface area than at sea and we ask that the space, but innovation does make it possible to increase space on land.

How many dry marinas are needed in Eivissa?
It would take two or three dry marinas in Eivissa and/or more ramps that have a good parking area because a ramp without a good parking nearby does not make any sense. There are many coves in Eivissa and a lot of water, what happens is that sometimes we all feel as residents of the island that our waters are saturated and this is caused by all the boats that come from abroad and do not commit to any type of mooring and In the end, they use the coves as anchorages and this means that we sometimes perceive this saturation. It is not a local problem, but rather a problem of intrusion that we all suffer from companies outside the island.

And how many ramps would be needed?
We should double the current number, mainly because we always explain that it is essential for us that the residents, those of us who live here all year , we have a way to go out to the sea and with the dry marinas and the ramps the Ibizan and resident of Eivissa does not lose the connection with the sea; This is very important because otherwise, sailing will become more and more elitist, and we are going to create a bigger gap in society. Prohibition and restriction policies will ultimately achieve this effect and we consider that this is not the way. The Ibizan has always been closely linked to the sea, and it seems more and more that we are turning our backs to the sea both at a social level and at the level of political guidelines, but then they put forward a national law that boats on the seventh list can be rented to from 2024 for a maximum of 90 days.

Are you afraid of this new national law?
It is under development and we have met with senior officials who tell us that in the end it will be the autonomous community who decides whether to apply it or not. We trust that it will not apply in the Balearic Islands, but today we do not have this certainty.

What are they asking of the new Government?
We demand the creation of a Department of the Sea. We believe that it is vital that the Balearic Islands have a Department of the Sea because it has a lot of activity and it is surprising that a specific department has never emerged to regulate all the activity that exists in the sea; We see it as a very good proposal.

How many foreign companies come to work?
It is difficult to know. It is unfair competition because we assume a series of expenses that they do not have and they have an advantage for this reason at the price level. However, we have an advantage in terms of service and quality because a ship is better maintained from a port than from a cove, this is clear, but these people or ships can request a responsible statement, which is that the Government gives you a sheet and you pay a small fee and this makes them legitimate, and in the end in the Balearic Islands I know that there are some 2,000 boats that are installed with this responsible declaration. In the end, the boats move and it is difficult to know when they are in Eivissa and Formentera, but I would swear that more or less half of them have to operate in the Pitiüses.

What can be done to try to reduce or stop unfair competition?
The best thing would be that in order to carry out a commercial activity in Balearic waters, it is a requirement that the ship has to have a base port because in this way the number of ships that operate is controlled. In the world of motoring they control it that way, with licenses, and we are here because it is the sea, because apparently a person can bring their boat from anywhere in the country and decide to work here for two or three summer months and then disappear. We here in Eivissa pay dearly for everything: our staff earns more, the offices we rent are more expensive, the moorings are obviously more expensive and we do the entire maintenance cycle here. The activity in the world of sailing decreases in winter, but we continue and in the end it is an annual job that we offer in a place that depends on tourism such as the Balearic Islands in general, and Eivissa and Formentera in particular, as destinations for season.

In its last meeting, the association it represents expressed its concern about the loss of competitiveness.
If we, the ones who operate here, have more rates, we pay more for everything and the from the Peninsula do not have to pay the same, you lose competitiveness, but this must be taken to international terms. We have a fantastic surrounding landscape that attracts many people, but we are not the only destination with coves with turquoise water. Here we demand everything, but there are emerging markets such as Croatia and Greece where there are also boats, professionals and very beautiful surroundings with very good temperatures. We should not make the mistake of thinking that we are the only ones who have an enviable environment. We are at a disadvantage because their prices are cheaper than us and you can change the port from one day to the next and there are more marinas, for example.

What are the main challenges ahead as an association?
The main thing is to guarantee the future of the sector; we have encountered a very contrary policy so far. We are not even requesting that more marinas be built or anything like that, nor that there be more surface area to exploit. Simply, that they consult with us the projects and initiatives. Another problem we have is that there is no place to take the boats, there are no dry docks, if you want to take a boat to dry dock, they still give you a month or more to wait. We need the resources we have to be better managed.

SOURCE Periódico de Ibiza