In a country like the Philippines, which boasts of the world’s third longest coastline, the ideal picture of a thriving boating sector goes beyond all the glitz and glamour. For people and communities involved in this sector, it's really all about sustaining the distribution of resources even down to those at the bottom of the entire chain.

“People think sailing is a very exclusive sport, but what it really does is support and empower local communities that it touches,” says Robin Wyatt managing director of Europa Yachts, the exclusive distributor of Azimut, Beneteau (sail and power) and Lagoon catamarans in the Philippines.

“The marinas, for example, would have to employ locals for facility maintenance, for leisure services, for repairs, to help them lure high-value tourists,” he adds.

A touring 100-foot leisure boat, for instance, spends about US $10,000 a day for accommodation, for repairs, for replenishing supplies, and other auxiliary servicesóall of which trickle down to the members of the community hosting them.

In February, SEA-EX event 2015 organizers, led by its chairman Angelo Olondriz, brought a couple of people over at the picturesque Club Punta Fuego Yacht Club to discuss the bigger purpose behind the initiative promoting support for the boating sector: to help strengthen the Philippines’ position as the Carribean and the Mediterranean of the Far East.

“What we’d like to showcase at SEA-EX is really the broad spectrum of elements within the leisure boat industry here in the Philippines, everything from the banca we are so used to using in rural coastal towns to the yachts and the cruise liners,” shares Olondriz.

“What we are trying to do with the boat show is to bring the industry together, to further that industry to hopefully lobby with, and work with, the government to prioritize this very strong potential we have not barely touched. By championing this initiative, hopefully in the next two years we can at least push our boating sector to begin to rival some of our Asian neighbors, who have already focused much of their energy into this industry.”

One of the key highlights of the 7th edition of the expo was the three-day conference within the show that featured important themes related to the marine industry in the Philippines. SEA- EX brought in international and local speakers to share their insights on a variety of topics: (1) promoting the Philippines as a Mecca for marine tourism; (2) developing the countryís boat manufacturing industry; and (3) sustainable development and protecting the Philippines’ marine biodiversity for ecotourism. 

Source:Manila Standard Today