Nautical tourism, in the South it can grow again by 25% in 5 years

Industry

'Nautical tourism in the South can grow by 25% in five years'

Marco Monsurrò, vice-president of Confindustria natica with responsibility for the Mezzogiorno, the ZES and internationalisation

30 June 2025

3' min read

"Nautical tourism has grown a lot in recent years: we estimate that it is worth around 14 billion in annual turnover, on top of the 8.3 billion of the industrial sector. The South has an important weight. But with the right infrastructure, the value of nautical tourism could grow by 25% in five years'. The speaker is Marco Monsurrò, newly elected vice-president of Confindustria nautica with the delegations to the South (assigned for the first time by president Piero Formenti), to the Zes and to internationalisation.

What to do then?

Nautical tourism needs infrastructure and services, equipped ports and new berths. And in the South interventions of this kind are even more strategic, not least because it has fewer berths than the Centre North.

So investments are needed.

Yes, but be careful, it is important to start with a careful study of where to create the new berths and of what type. We don't need them everywhere, we have areas where the density of berths is already such that there are not enough berths, i.e. inlets in which to stop. So we need a plan, and Confindustria Nautica is working on it, which takes into account safety, connection with the territory, anthropic pressure, and an increase in transit berths, i.e. reserved for days and not months.

Not only services, manufacturing is also experiencing a happy season.

This is so. In 2024 we will have reached a production value of 8.3 billion with 50% exports. Campania is among the leading regions with 10% of companies and Naples, in particular, is home to an important pole that is fourth in Italy (if we consider pleasure boatbuilding and also allied industries) after Milan, Turin and Rome. But there is no shortage of reasons for concern.

What are you alluding to?

To nautical leasing, for example, which gave a boost to production and the market, but after the EU's objections it was practically wiped out. We think it has been detrimental to companies and the treasury. A financial instrument to support the sector is necessary to regain competitiveness with neighbouring countries. As far as the South of Italy is concerned, pleasure boat chartering has also given a strong boost, but today it is in difficulty because boats over ten metres long are required to be driven by a driver, but only five harbour masters' offices issue licences, three of which are in the South. With 1,500 applications, 70% of which come from southern regions, there are only a few dozen graduates'.

The America's Cup arrives in Naples in 2027: an opportunity for the industry?

It is a great opportunity for the city, for Bagnoli, for the companies in the sector. Confindustria Nautica has initiated talks with Defender Team New Zealand, which has asked us for support in terms of knowledge of the area, which we are already providing. And we hope that soon there will also be the involvement of Unione Industriali Napoli. Meanwhile, we are also at the Municipality's technical table. In short, we will be an active part in the overall organisation of the event. Indeed, perhaps in 2027, the year of the sailing competition, we would like to launch another project of our own.

What is this all about?

We are working on the planning of the 'Sea Week' in Naples: an event that brings together three others, such as the nautical fair, the NauticSud with a long tradition, the Salore of hospitality, and a third event that we would like to dedicate to sea fashion. In the south of Italy we have all of this: shipyards, allied industries, and fashion companies that were born with a specialisation in marine clothing and have now become large companies with a worldwide presence.