The 11th Nautical Conference releases lines at Bilbao

This Thursday, 7th of March, the gates of Euskalduna Bilbao have opened to receive nearly 450 professionals of the nautical sector who will assist the 11th Nautical Conference that is organized by the National Association of Nautical Companies (ANEN), where experts and professionals of the sector have debated about the future and present of one of the main industries of the Balearic Islands.

The journalist and presenter Quico Taronjí, is again the responsible to manage this national event, in which the General Director of Basquetour, Daniel Solana, has assured that “it is a pleasure to have you all here in the Basque Country, for the second consecutive year” and it is that the last edition was celebrated at San Sebastian. “It is an important historical landmark for the Basque Country and for its nautical industry that it is celebrated here such an event” has assured Solana who has listed necessary actions to have a nautical quality tourism, and that the tourists have a fantastic experience without risks. 

Analysis of the current situation of the industry

The first of the talks, entitled 'Economic prospects for 2024: against all odds', was given by the economist Fernando Trías de Bes, who argued, "against those who speak of regionalisation and block economies", that, in his view, "globalization is absolutely unstoppable".

During his speech, he advocated a positive view of the economy. "Although, due to the fact that the world is interconnected, there will be more and more crises, bigger, more unforeseen and more global, they will also be shorter, because globalization offers us more tools and resources to solve them", he reasoned.

Trías de Bes briefly reviewed the evolution of the economy since the pandemic. "That was a great shock that altered all the macro variables, which have become unbalanced and are gradually stabilizing. We needed a year and a half for the world's factory to regulate itself. We are at a turning point in which everything is stabilizing", he said.

Looking ahead to 2024, he foresees "a slowdown, but not a recession". "Moreover, tourism is still on the rise and breaking records. And whenever tourism is doing well, Spain is doing well," he said.

Referring further to the nautical sector, Trias de Bes reflected that "we may think that the nautical sector is dispensable for some people, as it is considered a luxury or a whim, but it is not so clear, because this is not about the money I have, but about what I like," he said.

After learning about the economic outlook for the sector, Inma Shara, one of the few symphony orchestra conductors in the world, gave a masterful motivational and leadership talk in which she focused on placing value on intangibles, since "the difference between one brand and another is the people, who are irreplaceable", acknowledging that "only by creating a brand will we be able to be competitive in the long term". And that is one of the great challenges facing leaders in the sector: managing human capital. "We have to strengthen the attitudes of each and every one of them, because everyone has a role to play and they are all equally important," says Shara, who adds that "leadership is exciting, because it is about transforming people and making talents shine at the service of others and not for themselves". 

What is today's marine consumer like?

After the coffee break, where industry professionals were able to generate synergies and network in the exhibition area, Arturo Gutiérrez, CEO of Freedom Boat Club in the EMEA region, stressed that boating is a very engaging activity. "Therefore, we should not focus on people who already sail, but on potential new sailors," he said. On this point, he stressed that "the profile of the nautical customer of the future, compared to the current one, is younger; professionally more active, with a higher level of education; more diverse in terms of profile, gender, ethnicity and race,...; more knowledgeable about new technologies, so they demand digital solutions that are customized to their needs, and more environmentally aware".

Among the trends that define this new customer, he highlighted their taste for outdoor activities and tourism, the value they place on health and wellbeing, their flexible working hours thanks to hybrid work and their preference for flexible economic models, such as 'shared access' or 'try before you use'.

On this point, he stressed that the sector should focus on combating the main barriers that separate this potential customer from sailing, letting them know that they have various options available to them to enjoy the sea, such as sailing clubs, which, in his view, "rationalize access to the sea and deseasonalize sailing. They should not be seen as competition to boat ownership models, but as a complement, as 60% of sailing club customers have never owned a boat, 92% had no prior intention of buying a boat and a very significant percentage end up buying their own boat, so they serve to elevate the sector as a whole".

The regulation of the sustainability is key to be the head of the market

Another of the fundamental topics that is always spoken at these editions of Nautical Conferences is sustainability. On this occasion, it has been focused on how sustainability regulation is evolving and how this regulation affects companies in the marine sector.

In this sense, KPMG's Sustainability and Good Governance partner, acknowledged that the current expectations of companies in terms of sustainability are very different from those of 60 years ago, and that "the European regulatory framework is becoming more and more demanding", he remarked. 

The sustainability of companies is based on three points: regulation, markets and society. The aim of this regulation is to ensure that companies report to the administration on their non-financial issues with the same rigour as their financial ones. "This means that companies will have to respond to European sustainability standards and it will have a direct impact on how we do business," explains Salazar. 

In fact, with the taxonomy, companies will report sales, investments and operating costs. "This is going to be very important because banks have incentives to lend money to companies that have the taxonomy aligned," he says. 

On the societal side, sustainability influences a company's reputation. Therefore, consumers will compare the sustainability of companies to decide which one to consume. "There are 79% of consumers who will reduce their consumption of a brand if they find out that it acts in an unsustainable way," he confesses. 

This fact influences the market, as "companies that anticipate and implement sustainable policies will be ahead" as "these regulations are guiding companies to make decisions on how to run their businesses".

The nautical education, pending class for the administration

The first debate table of the 11th Nautical Conference of the ANEN has brought up the title “Mapping the nautical education” and has counted on with the participation of Rafael Domínguez, director of the Official Nautical Training School (IFON); Mercedes Prado, CEO and IME and president of the Blue Education Association: Agustí Martin i Mallofré, dean of the Faculty of Nautical Studies of Barcelona (UPC), and Jordi Carrasco, Director General of ANEN, as moderator. 

After reviewing the different options for nautical training that exist, both in the university and vocational training, and glossing the positive impact of the sector on the economy, Rafael Domínguez, director of the Institute of Official Nautical Training (IFON) stressed that, among the autonomous communities, Catalonia is the model to follow in this area, and lamented the lack of nautical training centers at national level. He also highlighted ANEN's lines of action in this area: "dissemination and communication to publicize the interesting opportunities offered by the sector; to become a catalyst for collaboration between companies and training centers in this area, and to promote it with the administration".

The moderator of the round table, Jordi Carrasco, stressed that "training is essential to professionalize the sector. We need to attract these vocations and provide them with training facilities", he stressed. On this point, Mercedes Pardo stressed the importance of "facilitating companies' access to qualified talent, both to attract and retain it".

For his part, Feliu López argued that "now is the time to train the professionals the sector needs. For the first time, we have all the elements available on the table, so we must seize the opportunity. Firstly, we have a new regulatory framework, the Comprehensive Vocational Training Act. At the same time, there is already a network of training centers. We need to identify which ones can become specialized and benchmark centers", he said.

In this regard, Jordi Carrasco called for an "alliance between the productive sector and the training centers, to identify the profiles that are not being covered and those that need to be updated, in order to pass this on to the administration". On this point, he explained that "We have analyzed the professional profiles that currently exist in the nautical sector and are obsolete, and we are reviewing the SEPE training catalog to propose which ones should be removed, which ones should be modified and which ones should be created. We have identified more than 25 specialization courses that we should create. This is the next step we need to take", he added. 

Likewise, in terms of university education, he called for the integration of a specialization in recreational boating at university. On this point, Agustí Martin explained that, "before, nautical studies at university were 100% focused on the merchant navy, but it has been seen that recreational boating offers great job opportunities. He also stressed the need to adapt study programmes to the technological evolution of the sector. "In addition to the trend towards decarbonisation, autonomous ships will become increasingly common, first controlled from land with a minimum of personnel and, later, without personnel and programmed to sail 100% autonomously. Training will have to be adapted to this future", he advocated.

The great challenges of the nautical industry and women in the sector

In this eleventh edition, prominent women from the national nautical sector, such as Lucía Mingot, director of quality, innovation and sustainability of Astilleros de Mallorca; Ione Astondoa, operations manager and representative of the fourth generation of Astilleros Astondoa; Gema Rosso, ship consignee; and Maider Arrieta, lawyer and partner of the law firm Albors Galiano Portales have shared a panel discussion moderated by Felisa Ramos, ambassador of the firm Albors Galiano Portales; and Maider Arrieta, lawyer and partner of the Albors Galiano Portales law firm, shared a debate moderated by Felisa Ramos, ambassador of Inspiring Girls in the Basque Country, to offer their views on the challenges facing the industry and the challenges facing women in the sector. 

One of the great difficulties facing the sector and all the speakers agreed on the need for specialized and quality training. In this sense, Ione Astondoa explained the involvement of the shipyard in the Valencian Community, offering its own professionals to train future technicians in the sector. "It is very difficult to find teachers who are professionals in the sector, so we have relied on professionals from the shipyard to support and advise the teachers," she said. Due to this lack of specialized training, "it is very difficult to find the right profile for each area," says Gema Rosso. 

Lucía Mingot adds that another challenge for the sector is innovation. "Shipbuilding is quite traditional and it is difficult to introduce innovations, but we have to adapt, as ships are becoming more and more connected," she says. 

In the field of maritime law firms, according to Maider Arrieta, technology and artificial intelligence are the biggest challenges they are currently facing, as it is constantly evolving and requires constant adaptation.

Focusing more on the role of women and the challenges that women in the nautical sector have had to overcome or may still have to overcome, the opinion of the speakers was unanimous in stating that during their professional careers they have faced obstacles more due to other factors, such as the pandemic, than because of their gender. "During the pandemic there were no boat shows or fairs to present new models, so we had to innovate and launch an online-only model for the first time. Luckily, it worked out well and now all the presentations are also online," explains Ione Astondoa. 

Although they have not encountered any gender-based obstacles, they recognise that at the time they did not have female role models, but they hope that future women in the sector will now have them. "Perhaps women studying naval engineering now have more female role models. Although in universities there are still more men than women studying these branches," confesses Lucía Mingot, who encourages women to study technical professions. 

The impact of blue tourism and nautical events

The last of the presentations on the first day of the 11th ANEN Nautical Congress consisted of a panel discussion on 'The great nautical events, their legacy and Blue Tourism destinations', with the participation of Juli Hernández, Project Director of the Barcelona Nautical Capital Foundation (FBCN); Pilar Fernández-Fígares, manager of the Málagaport Foundation.

During his speech, Hernandez showed all the activities and initiatives developed by the FBCN in the educational, cultural and sporting fields, with the aim of promoting sailing and sailing and positioning Barcelona and Catalonia as a world reference. "In 1992, thanks to the Olympic Games, Barcelona opened up to the sea. Now, in 2024, taking advantage of the America's Cup that we are going to hold from 22 August to 27 October, we want to open up the sea to everyone and make it more inclusive and sustainable", he said.

For his part, Fernández-Fígares outlined the major projects and infrastructures related to nautical activity that have recently been carried out or are currently being developed in Malaga, the leading city in Andalusia in terms of marinas, with 11 marinas dedicated to recreational sailing.

Firstly, he stressed that the Mediterranean is the most popular region as a base or transit port for megayachts, as it accounts for 60% of the traffic of these vessels, with more than 3,000 superyachts, to which 2,000 more will be added in the next 15 years, and an economic impact of more than 115,000 jobs and more than 5 billion euros gross per year. Thus, he highlighted the large Megayacht Dock, operational from 2022, with an economic impact of 100 million euros per year and 800 direct, indirect and induced jobs. On the other hand, she highlighted the future Marina Málaga San, a project already awarded that will be operational in two years, with capacity for 533 boats from 8 to 30 meters in length and a space for public and port use, which will house workshops, sailing schools, commercial and catering areas. 

Finally, Iratxe Elso, representative of the Association of Active, Adventure and Nature Tourism Companies of the Basque Country (AKTIBA), emphasized "the importance of large, medium and small nautical events to bring the sea closer to the public and to promote blue tourism, linked to the sustainable economy". Among the sea-related events held in the Basque Country, he highlighted the Sail In European sailing film festival, the Surf Film Festival, the Aquarium Film Festival, the Pro Surf Zarautz, the Basque Country Cup Offshores International, the La Concha Regattas, the Elkano Landing, the Pasaia Sea Festivals, the International Underwater Film Series and the Nautical Fairs. "All these events attract many people, including many people unfamiliar with the sea, and serve to increase nautical tourism, which in recent years has become increasingly seasonal," he concluded.