On 6 October 2021, EBI participated in the NAUTICOM online forum organised by an EU-funded project on “Nautical cooperation network in Macaronesia. Promotion of internationalization, tourism competitiveness and Blue Growth of the Macaronesia region” (NAUTICOM). The aim of the project is to encourage the development of nautical tourism in the Macaronesian region and archipelagos (Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Azores, Madeira).

The theme of the conference was "Maritime and coastal tourism, basic sector for the blue and green economy in Macaronesia". The main objective of the Forum was to share the results of the project, exchange experiences and good practices on the economic, commercial and financial potential offered by international alliances, networking and transnational commercial collaboration in the nautical industry. Key speakers from international organisations participated to show trends in the coastal and maritime tourism sector, focusing on the nautical sector and the challenges that it is currently facing towards a greener and blue economy.

EBI’s Secretary-General was invited to participate in the opening session of the conference together with representatives of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and the Directorate-General for Internal market.

EBI offered its perspective on the recent increased consumer interest in boating, which could represent a positive long-term trend for the whole industry and regions. Further highlighted, were the important role of digitalisation and environmental sustainability for the future of boating. Importantly, EBI called for adequate policies and funding at the national and European level to foster the development and implementation of technology and infrastructure for sustainable propulsion solutions, together with the necessary modernisation of marinas towards essential goals such as renewable energy, climate change adaptation, and digitalisation.

Among the speakers, Nauticom also featured the presence of two representatives of the European Commission. Elfa Kere, DG GROW Policy Officer, focused on the challenges that tourism SMEs and micro-SMEs will face in the coming years to adapt their businesses to the new sustainability trend and showcased the “Transition Pathway for Tourism”, a strategic approach that is currently being developed. It involves stakeholders of the tourism sector to jointly develop recommendations on establishing a resilient tourism ecosystem by 2030.

Manuel Pleguezuelo, DG MARE Policy Officer, explained the Commission’s Strategy to “Transforming the EU's Blue Economy for a Sustainable Future”, a new approach to fully embed the blue economy into the European Green Deal which aims to develop offshore renewable energy, make the blue economy more circular by renewing standards such as those for ship recycling, boat recycling, and build green infrastructure in coastal areas to preserve biodiversity while promoting coastal tourism.