The Royal Decree of the reform of the nautical qualifications was published in the Official State Bulletin last month. Adapting the qualifications to the reality of the sector is a necessary improvement in order to have a level playing field with the rest of Europe. The reality of the sector was plain to see during the Barcelona Boat Show - despite some positive signs, the show still has a long way to go in order to recover its place among the top shows. In this month´s letter we speak also about the modification of the lighthouse tax for the transient yachts and about the meetings we have initiated with the various political parties ahead of the municipal elections next year.
Just few weeks ago the Royal Decree of the reform of the nautical qualifications was published in the Official State Bulletin (BOE). It means an important step forward for the sector, as it updates our legislation to the day to day reality of yachting and puts us at the same level as the rest of the EU countries. Some of the novelties introduced in the RD are the extension of the scope of the qualifications, simplification of the training and disappearance of the “titulin”. On behalf of AENIB we want to praise the work carried out by ANEN, as the text approved by the Council of Ministers is practically the same as prepared and presented by ANEN at the II Nautical Congress. We also want to express our gratitude to Direction General of the Merchant Navy for their efforts in making the reform happen. Having said that, we do think it has taken too long and the reform should have been approved before the summer. ANEN deserves congratulations also for the work carried out with the comments and suggestions to the Law of Maritime Navigation, and for letting AENIB to participate in the process. It is worth remembering that this law, amongst many other things, will facilitate the economic transactions of the operations in our sector.
The Barcelona Boat Show is starting to lift after several years of decline, but it is still far from what it used to be in the beginning of the millennium. ANEN has done a great job with everything related to the show, not only in an advisory role for the organization of the event, but also organising meetings and conferences of utmost importance, where renown experts and important figures from the Administration have participated. Through these contacts ANEN seeks to persuade the central government to speed up the implementing of measures that give the nautical sector in Spain firmer legal safeguards and better tools for international promotion. Also worth mentioning is the effort ANEN is putting in the elaboration of Collective Agreement for the sector, about which we will inform you more in detail as the project advances.
In our opinion, despite having improved considerably in the last two years, the Barcelona Boat Show is still not attracting a lot of clients from the other autonomic regions. No doubt this is due to the persistent economic crisis is Spain, combined with the delays in adopting measures to boost the nautical sector in our country. Another issue that the organisation of the Barcelona Boat Show should pay attention to is international promotion and capture of clients from outside our borders. This is significantly different in comparison to Palma Boat Show, which thanks to international marketing has managed to attract a large number of foreign clients. It is specifically the international clientele that strengthens and gives prestige to a boat show. Palma Boat Show is indeed becoming one of the most important Spanish boat shows, something we should be proud of and what should give us sufficient confidence to continue towards even better results.
Another piece of good news (although only by halves) is that the State Ports have listened to reason and will stop charging a minimum rate of 30 days of the lighthouse tax (T0) off transient yachts, as they have done so far, even when the visitor has stayed only for a weekend in our waters. Together with ANEN we have fought for a long time to get rid of this unreasonable practice that caused a lot of damage while in force. The change comes too late though, to have any beneficial effects on this season. Besides, there are still some unresolved issues, for example whether the T0 is applicable only in the State Ports or whether it will be charged in all moorings in Spain. We´ll keep you updated as and when we receive further information.
Although the municipal elections are still a few months away, AENIB has already started a round of meetings with the different political parties in order to involve them in the opportunities that the nautical sector offers to the community and to inform them about changes required to unleash the real potential of the sector. Few days ago we had a meeting with the local branch of the PP party during which we handed them a complete report of the necessities of the sector. Among them carrying out a Strategic Plan for the nautical sector, improving the representation of the sector in different institutions, creating of a single coordinative organ with the Administration, progressing with the fiscal and administrative harmonisation with the rest of the Spanish regions and with the countries around us, modernising the infrastructures of our islands, dedicating more resources to marketing the Balearics as a nautical destination, boosting the professional training programmes and the qualification of workers. All of these are rational and realistic measures for the sole purpose of increasing the wellbeing of the whole community.
No comments:
Post a Comment