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Nautical tourism, also calledwater tourism, istourism that combinessailing andboating with vacation and holiday activities. It can be travelling from port to port in acruise ship, or joining boat-centered events such asregattas or landing a small boat for lunch or other day recreation at specially prepared day boat-landings. It is a form oftourism that is generally more popular in the summertime.
First defined as an industry segment in Europe and South America,[when?] it has since caught on in the United States and the Pacific Rim.
Many tourists who enjoy sailing combine water travel with other activities. Supplying the equipment and accessories for those activities has spawned businesses for those purposes.[1] With many nautical enthusiasts living on board their vessels even in port, nautical tourists bring demand for a variety of goods and services.Marinas developed especially for nautical tourists have been built in Europe, South America and Australia.
Tourist services available at marinas catering to nautical tourists include:
Water travel used to be the only form of transportation between cities in theNetherlands. Since improvements in the road and rail structure, less and less commercial freight water traffic is using the water. In the latter half of the 20th century the growth of water tourism exceeded the amount of freight traffic, and older cities whose ports were long disused refurbished them for water tourists. Water tourists are a strong lobby for protecting old water routes from being closed or filled. Both refurnished antique canal boats ("salonboten") and modern tour boats ("rondvaartboten") are available for tourist day trips in most Dutch cities. A steady tourist industry has kept both the oldcanals of Amsterdam and their canal mansions open for water traffic. Their popularity has introduced water traffic safety laws to ensure that the commercial passenger boats have right-of-way over private skiffs and low yachts, while preventing fatal accidents.[2]
To reduce the less desired side-effects of popular watertourist spots, the public awards stimulate sustainable tourist innovations, such as the EDEN award for the electricity-propelled tourist boats inDe Weerribben-Wieden National Park.[3]
River tourism is exceptionally popular among theCzech people, who sail bycanoes,rafts or other boats downstream majorBohemian rivers asVltava,Sázava,Lužnice,Ohře andOtava. The most popular and frequented river section is the Vltava fromVyšší Brod viaRožmberk nad Vltavou andČeský Krumlov toZlatá Koruna, which is annually visited by as many as hundreds of thousands paddlers (inCzech calledvodáci, sg.vodák). The lowest section of the Sázava (downstream fromTýnec nad Sázavou) is also very frequented, for its finerapids, scenic landscape, and proximity toPrague. In peak season, "traffic jams" can be regularly seen on the busiest rivers, mainly at weirs. The most popular river sections are plentifully equipped with camps, stands, pubs, and boat rental services. There has even some "paddlers' culture" developed, with peculiar slang, songs, traditions etc., related to theCzech tramping movement.
Australia has invested $1.5 billion in facilities designed to attract nautical tourists and promote development of nautical tourism as a segment of the tourist trade.[4] In 2016/17 saw the industry's total national economic contribution in Australia grow by 15.4% and contributed A$5.3 billion to the Australian economy. Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne accounted for 65% of the total passenger onshore visit days.[5]
A growing worldwide industry segment, nautical tourism has become popular in South America. The Brazilian Ministry of Tourism has a website devoted to the subject.[6] Puerto Rico has seen its share of growth in nautical tourism as well.[7] Not to be outdone, the Chilean Economic Development Agency has launched the Chilean Patagonia Nautical Tourism Program to develop and attract nautical tourists to the Chilean coast.[8]
In the Southeastern United States, theTennessee–Tombigbee Waterway, a meandering river and canal system that traverses Alabama and Mississippi linking the Tennessee River with the Gulf of Mexico, has become a favorite boating trail for nautical tourists who want a diverse route with a scenic view.[9] Originally conceived as an alternate shipping route for barges destined for the Midwest, the route proved too awkward for large tows. However, boating enthusiasts discovered it as a great way to see Middle-America. Stops along the way includeMobile, Alabama,Demopolis, Alabama, and Amory and Columbus in Mississippi. Travelling north from the Gulf, boaters can follow the Tennessee River its intersection with the Ohio and travel a circuitous route back to the Gulf by way of New Orleans.
TheIntracoastal Waterway system, which stretches from Texas to New Jersey, has long provided nautical tourists with a well-marked channel and an inside passage that allows boaters to travel from southern Texas up the eastern seaboard without having to venture onto the high seas.[10] Using this route, boaters can stop at Galveston, Texas, any number of towns in southern Louisiana, including New Orleans. Farther west,Apalachicola, Florida provides a glimpse of Florida the way it used to be.
