EU Tourism Strategy Targets Boating Licences and Marinas

Q: Give examples of marine leisure tourism?

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

EU Tourism Strategy Targets Boating Licences and Marinas

5th November 2026

Afloat.ie Team

Marina Investment: Kinsale Marina illustrates the importance of modern boating infrastructure as the EU's new Tourism Strategy targets marina upgrades, sustainability and greater recognition of boating qualifications across Europe

The European Commission's new EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy has been welcomed by the European Boating Industry (EBI), which says the proposals represent significant progress on two longstanding issues for recreational boating: the mutual recognition of boating licences and investment in marina infrastructure.

Published on Wednesday, 4th November, the strategy sets out the Commission's tourism priorities for the coming years, including competitiveness, sustainability, connectivity, skills and investment.

For recreational boating, one of the most significant developments is a proposal to address the different rules governing the recognition of boating qualifications across European countries.

Progress on Boating Licence Recognition

The Commission has identified the lack of mutual recognition of recreational boating licences as an obstacle to cross-border boating and intends to pursue a more harmonised approach.

It proposes a Council Decision applying United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Resolution No. 40, which provides the framework for the International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft (ICC).

The initiative follows a Commission study in 2025 examining the advantages and disadvantages of mutual recognition, together with European Parliament support for regulatory action earlier this year.

According to EBI, the existing differences between national systems create administrative difficulties and uncertainty for boat owners, charter businesses, rental companies and sailing clubs.

In Ireland, Irish Sailing is authorised to issue the ICC on behalf of the Department of Transport, as Afloat.ie previously reported. Acceptance of the certificate still depends on the rules of the country being visited.

The proposal represents a step towards greater consistency, although it does not yet establish automatic recognition of boating qualifications across the EU.

Marina Modernisation and Sustainability

The strategy also identifies the need to upgrade and modernise Europe's marina infrastructure, with greater emphasis on sustainability.

EBI says the improvements should include alternative fuel facilities, digital marina management, circular waste solutions and environmentally friendly mooring systems.

The industry body is also advocating a European digital platform providing information on available marina berths.

Potential financial support is identified through EU funding instruments, with the proposed 2028–2034 EU budget offering opportunities for investment in tourism infrastructure, smaller businesses, innovation and sustainability.

VAT and Tourism Investment

Another issue EBI highlighted is the proposed review of VAT rules affecting tourism.

The organisation has been campaigning to address differences in the VAT treatment of accommodation afloat, including marina berths and boat charter, compared with accommodation ashore.

The Commission also plans a tourism simplification initiative in the first half of 2027 to identify administrative burdens affecting businesses.

An EU Tourism Observatory is planned for 2027, alongside improvements in tourism statistics and the development of a Common European Tourism Data Space. These initiatives could help establish a clearer picture of nautical tourism's economic contribution, while a proposed EU Tourism Academy would address skills and workforce challenges.

European Boating Industry Welcomes Strategy

EBI Secretary-General Philip Easthill described the strategy as a significant achievement for Europe's recreational boating industry.

"The EU Tourism Strategy represents a significant achievement for the recreational boating industry," he said, welcoming the inclusion of boating licence recognition and marina investment in the Commission's policy agenda.

He also thanked European Commission Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto and Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas for placing tourism high on the EU agenda.

European Boating Industry represents 24 national associations and 14 sustaining members. It estimates that Europe's recreational boating and nautical tourism sector comprises approximately 32,000 companies and more than 18,000 marinas, supports 280,000 direct jobs and enables 48 million people to enjoy boating and water sports annually.

The Commission's proposals now provide a policy framework for further work on issues that could affect recreational boating, marina development, and nautical tourism throughout Europe, including Ireland.

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Marine Leisure & Aquatic Tourism

Domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million.

Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips.

While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities.

According to the National University of Galway (NUIG) research the average expenditure per coastal day trip in 2018 was calculated at €95. The equivalent for coastal overnight trips was €310. The estimated water-based activity expenditure per person per trip across the sample was €56 rising to €73 for the subsample that actually undertake waterbased activities on their coastal visits. The results also indicate that domestic tourists undertake the majority of their marine activities on the West and South coasts of Ireland and that there are notable differences in participation rates across age groupings, social classes and by family makeup.

A domestic tourist is defined in this report as a person who spends at least one night away from home on their trip. Total expenditure by domestic tourists in coastal areas was estimated to be €698 million in 2018, which represents 35% of the total expenditure by domestic tourists (using the broader Fáilte Ireland measure for domestic tourists that includes business trips equating to 10.92 million in total trips and €2,006 million in total revenue).

The marine-related activity expenditure, or what might truly be referred to as domestic marine tourism, is estimated to generate revenue of €381 million with €172 million being spent on water-based activities. Marine tourism makes up an estimated 19% of total domestic tourism expenditure.

Marine Leisure Tourism - FAQ

What is marine leisure tourism?

Coastal tourism refers to land-based and water-based tourism activities taking place on the coast for which the proximity to the sea is a condition including also their respective services. Coastal and Marine Tourism & Leisure are seen as one of the Blue Economy (BE) sectors that can help unlock the potential of multi-use of space at sea by engaging with Blue Growth (BG) sectors such as Aquaculture and Marine Renewable Energy among others.

Give examples of marine leisure tourism?

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

What marine leisure tourism studies have been conducted in Ireland?

NUI Galway carried out a survey of domestic residents in Ireland in 2019 as part of a survey entitled "Valuing and understanding the dynamics of Ireland's Ocean Economy". The purpose of the household survey was to profile the domestic market for single-day trips (leisure) and overnight trips (tourism) for coastal and marine-related activities in Ireland. The results of the survey are also used to estimate what proportion of an Irish resident's total domestic tourism expenditure is in coastal areas (coastal tourism) and what proportion is spent on undertaking marine-related activities (marine tourism).

What were the results of the NUI marine leisure tourism study?

The NUI results highlight the important contribution that Ireland's marine and coastal resources make to the leisure experiences of the general population and the importance of the domestic tourism market to local coastal economies. The analysis indicates that domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million. Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips. While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. Satisfaction with the available marine-related leisure facilities was also found to be very high across all activities.