Few days ago we celebrated the 29th
Annual General Meeting and the VII Edition of the Nautical Awards, during which
the trajectory and fidelity of various associates was recognized, as well as
the great support we have been receiving from CAEB since decades. It was a very
special event that highlighted the strength of our sector.
As I said during the gala, it was a great
pleasure for us to see that, despite everything, we are able to stay united and
fight for our future together. I was
deeply satisfied see so many familiar faces again this year All
of you, great entrepreneurs, who stoically face the hardships of the economic
crisis and keep a steely resolve to carry on forward with your business day
after day, fighting against the tide.
Only because
of our unity and by investing human and economic resources have we been able to
make our voice heard amongst those authorities with the necessary power to
change things: local government, central government and even the European
Commission. Our voice has been heard and taken into account in the political
circles. And thanks to our presence at the most important boat shows of Europe,
we have managed to put Balearics back on
the map of nautical tourism.
We have worked side by side with
our colleagues at ANEN, preparing numerous reports and meticulous studies in
order to convince the decision makers of how beneficial it is to have a strong
nautical sector with a great potential for growth. A proof of our success is to
have achieved the exemption of the matriculation tax on charter yachts,
something we have fought for many years.
The same with the reform of the
Law of Navigation, which will recognize recreational yachting as a separate
activity for the first time in the history of our country. On a short term we
are pending on the reform of the nautical qualifications and their adaptation
to the current reality, a necessity that can not wait any longer.
However, we can not get carried
away with euphoria, and even less when there is still so much to do. We are
doing a lot of work to set the bases on which to construct a new legal, fiscal
and administrative framework that will allow us to compete in equal conditions
with our neighbours. It is important to
adopt new measures in order to encourage the activity in the nautical sector. Measures
like the exemption the matriculation tax on private yachts, simplification to
the maximum of all the bureaucratic processes that we suffer from, adoption of
fiscal policies that are in harmony with the rest of Europe and putting in
place more support for the entrepreneurs… The final objective is no other than
to be able to compete in equal conditions with our neighbours. If the desire
really is to create wellbeing, prosperity and employment in our country, this
is the correct path to follow. To achieve that, the public administrations and
the private business sector need to collaborate with each other.
A great example of this team work
is the Palma Boat Show. Remember that only a few years ago it was a show
without a future. Now it is just about to hang up the sign of “fully booked”. All
of this is possible thanks to the real power given to AENIB and other
associations in the capacity of members of the Organizing Committee of the
show. We, the nautical entrepreneurs, have made the Palma Boat Show an exciting
and promising project, capable of attracting both exhibitors and professionals,
as well as clients and the general public.
Before going on I would like to
make clear that AENIB is a non-political entity. Having said that, we
appreciate the commitment the current government shows to our sector. The team
of President Bauzá has supported our demands in Madrid, and this has enormously
sped up the measures I mentioned earlier. I would also like to give a special
mention to the representative of the Partido Popular Rosa Estarás in Europe,
who from her seat at the European Parliament managed to get the European
Commission to question the Spanish
matriculation tax. And of course we would like to express our gratitude to Mr Rogelio Araújo for his support to us at
the Congress. And let´s not forget about the representatives of other political
parties that back us up in our efforts to generate employment and wellbeing.
But despite getting more
supporters we continue to suffer from arbitrary measures by the Administration,
like the doubling of the so called lighthouse tax as well as the possible oil
prospecting planned by the central government. We urge all the political
authorities that were with us at the Assembly on the 20th to make a maximum effort to get Madrid to understand
the significance of our sector and to rectify before the damage is irreparable.
We have the environment as well as technical and human resources to be a
leading destination. It is important to study the issues thoroughly before making
laws or issuing taxes to see what their impact will be.
We are an association deeply
involved with society and function thanks to the collaboration of all the
members of our team and many other people and entities. The Gala and the
Assembly of AENIB were possible thanks
to a coordinated effort of the people involved in the association and the sector. Therefore we would like to
express our gratitude to the School of Tourism Felipe Moreno and our sponsors
Generali and Lloyds for their
collaboration. And above all give our heartfelt thanks to Tania, Aila, Carles, Brenda and
Xisca on behalf of all of us, not forgetting you – our associates. Thank you
for being part of AENIB and for contributing to change things for the better.
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