The recent and authoritative analyzes expressed by Anna Polimeni, president of CNA Nautica Calabria, on the sidelines of the Genoa International Boat Show, confirm with extreme clarity what was declared by Dr. Pasquale Natrella, manager and member of the Forza Italia Lamezia Terme Board of Directors. Calabria boasts an extraordinary geographical and strategic position in the heart of the Mediterranean, but to transform this potential into concrete economic development it is necessary to overcome the logic of simple transit and invest decisively in port infrastructure, quality services and tourist accommodation. As highlighted by the leaders of CNA Nautica, underlines Natrella, it is not enough for yachtsmen and large yachts to flow along our coasts; we must create the structural conditions so that they choose the region as a landing, stopping and storage destination, attracted by integrated services, safety and efficient connections.
The essential fact highlighted by the Forza Italia representative is that in Calabria the current supply of berths is insufficient compared to the growing demand of the national and international nautical market. Even taking into account the future and desirable expansion interventions of the nearby port of Vibo Valentia, the overall accommodation capacities of the region are and will continue to be structurally inadequate to satisfy the demand. This shortage risks nipping the sector’s development ambitions in the bud, diverting high-spending tourist flows to other Mediterranean destinations.
Added to this strong pressure is the expansion of the nautical charter sector, a continuously growing branch that urgently requires dedicated docks and equipment. The market for commercial activities linked to the rental and leasing of pleasure boats – from sailing and motor boats to catamarans and maxi yachts for tourism and sporting purposes – represents a fundamental economic driver. Without an adequate supply of berths dedicated to chartering fleets, Calabria risks remaining on the margins of a tourism segment that is constantly increasing on a global level.
In this scenario of urgent relaunch and strengthening of the regional accommodation network, reiterates Pasquale Natrella, the creation of the Tourist Port of Lamezia Terme represents the fundamental and unpostponable piece for the entire territory. Lamezia not only offers 10 kilometers of coastline ready to be enhanced with a view to urban regeneration and the Waterfront, but has an absolute uniqueness in the Italian and European panorama: the possibility of creating a port structure in close contact with the International Airport, in the localities of Ginepri and Cafarone. This would be an infrastructure directly connected to the airport with just a 5-minute journey, a distance so short that it could even be covered on foot.
This extraordinary proximity represents an unrivaled strong point for nautical charter operators and customers, as well as for private yachtsmen. In fact, it allows those who live in Northern Italy or abroad to land in Lamezia, reach their boat or rented vessel with unbeatable ease and speed, being able to immediately set sail in the waters of the Mediterranean. No other tourist port in the South boasts such an immediate connection between the flight and the boat deck.
To enrich this picture, the Italian manager highlights, there is a further growth opportunity provided by the resources available to our territory: the presence of the industrial area along the Lamezia coast. In fact, a shipyard dedicated to the storage, maintenance and even production of new vessels could be built here. Such a logistical structure would allow the tourist and accommodation functions of the marina to be separated from the operational and manufacturing ones, fully exploiting all the potential of the coastal strip without impacting on the urban decor or on the reception of visitors.
As a member of Forza Italia Lamezia, Pasquale Natrella welcomes and makes his own the challenge launched by CNA Nautica Calabria to make the region a true yachting destination and a point of reference in the Mediterranean. To realize this vision, a clear political and institutional will is needed to guide the planning of public works and the attraction of private investments. Supporting the Tourist Port and seizing this opportunity for integrated development means generating a very strong economic and employment impact, creating qualified jobs in the sectors of shipbuilding, carpentry, maritime mechatronics, on-board services, nautical charter, hospitality and excellent trade.
At the same time, the work would allow the development of a truly integrated regional port network, in which the port of Lamezia does not act as an alternative, but in synergy with the other ports in the region, from the Strait area to the Ionian and Tyrrhenian structures, to outline a large Calabrian tourist-nautical circuit. This intervention would ultimately be linked to a profound valorisation of its 10 kilometers of coastline and the Waterfront, integrating the infrastructure with environmental protection works, urban redevelopment of the coast and the provision of high-end services for residents and visitors.
The blue exponent recognizes in the port infrastructure of the coast a choice of political vision that can no longer be deferred: Lamezia Terme has all the credentials to guide this process of economic and image redemption; for this reason, concludes Natrella, it is time to join forces with trade associations, companies in the sector and the Calabria Region to transform a historic opportunity into the driving force of the tourism and production development of our territory.