| UK. Leisure marine industry contributes £2.2 billion to tourism, says Marine Federation |
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| Monday, 09 January 2006 | |
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Association news: The British Marine Federation (BMF) today, Monday 9 January, publishes a report that quantifies the economic impact of the leisure marine industry. The research carried out on behalf of the BMF by GHK Consulting Ltd, and published at the London Boat Show at ExCeL, shows that, in addition to the direct value added of £700 million, the industry contributes up to £2.2 billion to the UK tourism market. Half yearly industry trends are also being published which show renewed confidence among leisure marine companies in the second half of 2005 following a dip in the first half. Key findings from the report are: Total tourism activity associated with leisure boating supports up to 68,000 tourism jobs in the UK, of which 10 percent are supported by expenditure from overseas visitors Overseas tourists are estimated to account for about £200 million of the total leisure boating related tourism spending of up to £2.2 billion Approximately 30 million day visits and up to 16 million overnight trips involving leisure boating activities are undertaken each year (BMF, RYA, and Sunsail Watersport Participation Survey, 2004) The report also outlines the total economic benefit of the leisure marine industry to the UK economy: Around 30,000 jobs in up to 5,000 businesses A yield of £230 million per year in tax revenues Annual net exports (export value minus import value) of between £150 million and £230 million a year Significant contributions to economic development in the South West, with high levels of leisure boating activity and related industry in the South East, the Midlands and East of England Significant potential to develop the industry in North West and Wales The report states that there are 450,000 - 500,000 boats in the UK and that, based on 2004 figures, between 6-7 per cent of the adult population (about four million) participate in leisure boating activities. The British Marine Federation is also releasing half yearly industry trends. The responses indicate that confidence levels for the next six months are higher than in the first half of 2005 when they had dipped. This may bode well for the industry for 2006 although the industry remains cautious. Responses to the bi-annual survey of member companies showed: 48% said that outlook for the industry was good or excellent 34% state that quality of earnings has increased 49% expected to see an increase in export orders Returning to the Economic Benefits report, it is clear that a number of challenges are facing the industry. These challenges are also highlighted by members in the industry trends survey as potential barriers to growth. The constraint on provision of moorings and marinas is holding back growth in the domestic market for leisure boats and related services. Changes to the UK planning regime and the implementation of the Water Framework Directive are both areas with potential to add costs to running a marine business. John Clarke, Chief Executive of the British Marine Federation speaking from the London Boat Show commented: “The leisure marine industry is well known as a British manufacturing success story. In 2004, the industry grew by 8.5%, increasing turnover to nearly £2 billion – but what this report shows is how important our sector is as part of the continued success of the British tourism industry. “We welcome the decision announced in the Pre-Budget Report that the government is minded to apply for an extension to apply to keep the derogation on red diesel for our industry and we will work with government to win the argument now in Brussels. But this is not the only threat to our industry. “One of the other major threats is planning restrictions on the development of new and existing marinas and moorings. What we need are opportunities for sustainable development but we are currently getting almost no development at all. The planning and consents system needs to be improved and without this, the industry will struggle to reach its potential levels of growth in the coming years.” |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 09 January 2006 ) |
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