CAIRO: Middle East and North African countries would benefit economically by further developing their coastlines to attract the ever-growing number of tourists with yacht as well as those interested in marine activities, a recent report says. Capital investments of between $250-300 billion in the coming 15 years are needed to meet growing demand, according to the report. A Booz & Company report noted that the region offers “some of the most stunning marine assets in the world,” and as such, tourists can engage in a score of beach-related activities: jet-skiing, wind surfing, diving, rafting, kayaking, underwater photography, reef walking, sport fishing and expedition cruising. “Enterprising governments, private investors and marina developers in the region would reap significant benefits if they were able to capitalize on this demand.” Fadi Majdalani, partner at Booz & Company, noted in a statement that regional economies would be boosted through nautical tourism by “encouraging foreign spending on domestically produced goods and services, increasing governmental revenues through taxes, and creating employment.” The private sector has a pivotal role to play in fostering an environment that will allow for such marine assets to be fully developed, he added. Alessandro Borgogna, principle at Booz & Company, stated that Egypt, like many other MENA countries, has been making efforts, especially in the past seven to 10 years, to cast their nets around the growing marine-oriented tourists. “The UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, and Qatar have been spending billions of dollars to vie for the title of the ‘Yacht Capital' of the region,” he said. In order to compete with attractive destinations found all around the Mediterranean zone, such as, amongst others, Cannes, Monaco, Sardinia, Greece and Turkey, MENA countries have been constructing “playgrounds,” which the report equally terms “entertainment hubs,” for boaters and non-boaters. Notwithstanding such efforts, the report warns that demand is still outpacing local supply. It continues by explaining that demand is projected to undergo a major boom due to the growing affluence across the globe: “The demand for marina berths is expected to more than double by 2015 to about 82,000 berths, with the GCC and Egypt expected to account for the bulk of the demand.” The report underlines that this figure may quadruple by 2025. In view of such forecasts, the report recommends that MENA governments and the private sector must step up to the plate to maximize the benefits. Borgogna states that governments “should use public-private partnerships to grant long-term concessions for the development, financing and operations of marine infrastructure and services to private consortia, consisting of reputable marina master developers and operators.” But adds that it is ultimately the government's task to drive such an initiative forward and ensure that the sector develops its potential. The report concludes that an adequate regulatory framework must established, nautical training must be offered so as to ensure that local manpower has the capacity to handle such a new clientele, promotion campaigns must be undertaken to raise awareness about destinations, protection of the aquatic environment to ensure that its resources are protected for the future of the industry as well as fostering a network of marinas to enhance the yacht experience for nautical tourists. Without undertaking such efforts, with the critical support of the private sector, the MENA region is likely to fall short of reaping in the “substantial rewards.”
