Visiting recreational craft to the port of Plymouth : their use of facilities and implications for future management

Marine tourists contribute to the local economy through their expenditure on marine-related facilities, and in other sectors. This contribution w i l l have some multiplier effects throughout the locality. Although marinas are primarily environments in which to moor boats, the majority would find it difficult to derive sufficient income from permanent berthing fees alone. Therefore they have to look for other methods of raising income. It is possible that attracting marine tourists to make use of ancillary facilities w i l l contribute extra income, both to the marina and the local economy. To investigate this possibility the Port of Plymouth has been used as a case study. With little previous information about the impact o f visiting recreational craft to the Port o f Plymouth the main aims have been; 1) To evaluate the perceptions of marine tourists to the Port o f Plymouth, their purpose in visiting, their economic value as tourists and their use of facilities, both within the marinas and the immediate City environs o f the marinas. 2) To analyse the attraction o f marine tourists through promotional activities o f both private and public sector bodies, to the benefit of the City of Plymouth, as well as the potential benefits of hosting appropriate events in the City. Primary data has been gathered by means o f interviewing representatives of appropriate organisations, and this has been supported by secondary data provided by other relevant studies and bodies such as the British Marine Industries Federation. The Port o f Plymouth receives an esfimated 33,000 visifing boat nights per year, with an average crew of 3. This gives 99,000 marine tourists per year, which represents 4% of all tourists visiting Plymouth. Marine tourists directly generate a maximum o f approximately £2.8m expenditure per year. With an economic multiplier o f 1.3, they could generate up to £3.6m in total within the City of Plymouth. Marine tourism expenditure directly supports an estimated 53 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) jobs. With an employment multiplier value of 1.46 for the City, up to 77 FTE jobs could be supported in total. A n additional 30 non-FTE jobs are also supported by marine tourism, giving 107 jobs in total. However this only represents 0.1% of total employment in the City o f Plymouth. The most common source o f information about Plymouth is through almanacs or personal knowledge. There are no promotions aimed specifically at marine tourists, by i private or public organisations. The marinas and yacht clubs largely depend on word of mouth for advertising with some promotion via national boat shows and occasional adverts in the boating press. When balanced against the risks o f investing in further advertising, this is thought to be sufficient. However renewed strategies are required to promote an appealing image of the Port o f Plymouth, which is often perceived as being convenient and well served, but busy due to commercial and naval movements. There is also a demand from managers o f marinas and marine-related services for Plymouth City Council to be involved in the promotion and backing o f maritime events. It is felt that this is necessary to ease the logistics o f hosting larger events and to allow them to be successful enough to attract media interest and the resultant publicity. Possible fliture strategies are suggested relating to both these concerns. It is recognised that traditionally-themed maritime events are successful in attracting tourists. In order to address the possibility of fimding such events with public money, it is proposed that an economic impact survey must be carried out in the fiiture. There are currently sufficient facilities for marine tourists within the Port o f Plymouth. It may be possible to enhance these facilities by providing an area o f anchorage or swinging moorings, available for a lower mooring fee than a marina berth. A detailed survey o f visitor requirements w i l l be needed to quantify any demand for such an area, determining whether it w i l l contribute a further asset to the port or whether it w i l l merely create adverse competition for the current marinas and yacht clubs. The results o f the project w i l l contribute towards the attainment o f one objective of the Tamar Estuaries Management Plan. It has been carried out with the co-operation of the Tamar Estuaries Coastal Officer