Assessment of the impact of business development improvements around nautical tourism : final report

Nautical tourism is a subsector of coastal and maritime tourism, which is promoted as an important source of job creation and growth in the Blue Economy. The purpose of the study was to identify issues affecting the nautical tourism sector that could benefit from action at EU level, specify options for such interventions and assess their likely impacts. Informed by interviews and a literature review, the study identified a number of market and regulatory failures which are inhibiting access to nautical tourism, affecting the sector's economic performance, and having a negative impact on the environment. The study found problems that could benefit from EU action relating to: professional skipper qualifications, private skipper qualifications, on-board safety equipment, marinas and boating development, combined nautical and coastal tourism products and end of life boats. An impact assessment was conducted on a set of shortlisted options and the six best interventions (one in each topic area) were identified based on their effectiveness and efficiency.