Antoni Vives committed to the "clustering" of the nautical sector in Barcelona

More than 70 people attended the conference given yesterday by Antoni Vives, third Deputy Mayor for Urban Habitat of the City of Barcelona. Organised by Barcelona Nautical Cluster, the event was attended by most of the members of the organisation and by various personalities and authorities related to the city's nautical, maritime and port sector.

Toni Tió, president of Barcelona Nautical Cluster, was responsible for welcoming the attendees and thanked Antoni Vives and Port of Barcelona president ​​Sixte Cambra, also present at the event, for their involvement and commitment to the Cluster project. Mr Tió highlighted the work of all the companies and members of the organisation and of the industry, underlining the importance of pooling efforts "in the face of an adverse legislative scenario."

"Now is the time of the nautical sector"

Antoni Vives, third Deputy Mayor for Urban Habitat, began his speech by recalling that the cluster was born with the desire to join the nautical sector and to foster its activity. "We must strengthen Barcelona's nautical identity," he said, stressing the need to continue working within the Cluster's four working groups: promotion and internationalisation, legal environment, business opportunities and training.

Antoni Vives reviewed the urban transformation that the City Council has planned for the city's coastline, which holds a place and a potential for nautical activities. In his words, the way to achieve this is via a "clustered nautical sector" making it possible to strengthen the sector based on common goals.

The third Deputy Mayor for Urban Habitat referred to the extension of the city towards El Morrot or the reform of the Ronda Litoral ringroad, two projects that aim to recover the waterfront at the foot of the Montjuïc Mountain and create new areas of economic growth in Barcelona. In this connection, Antoni Vives showed the interest by the local government in locating facilities and activities related to the marine industry within these new urban spaces.

During the conference, and during the Q&A session, Antoni Vives also sent a message to the nautical sector present at the conference. While he praised the good current situation of the industry, he stressed the need for the sector to lobby and to work together effectively to jointly channel its demands to the authorities.

The participants took the opportunity to raise various issues relevant to the sector in Barcelona, ​​such as the difficulty in obtaining sponsors in sailing competitions and the demand for greater involvement by the City Council in dealing with administrative issues. There was also talk of the role of SMEs in the structure and how to live and work together within a nautical activity dominated mainly by superyachts.

* You can see photos of the event on Barcelona Nautical Cluster's Facebook profile.   

​​​​​