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Displaying items by tag: Ben Ainslie Racing

#AmericasCup - Sir Ben Ainslie's America's Cup team is already a serious prospect where it counts on the water. But now they're stepping up on the business side of things after signing former McLaren F1 team principal Martin Whitmarsh to lead the charge.

As YBW.com reports, Whitmarsh will join Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) as chief executive next month – marking the second significant connection between high-performance yachting and Formula 1 after BAR's partnership with Red Bull Racing's chief designer Adrian Newey.

“I’m delighted that Martin is joining us," said Sir Ben in a statement on the announcement earlier this month. "When we first started to put together the plan for BAR, McLaren were one of the aspirations.

“So it’s particularly appropriate to have one of the original architects of that model as our new CEO."

Whitmarsh joins BAR after 25 years with McLaren, during which he worked up the ranks to CEO of the McLaren Group but is best remembered for his stint as the company's F1 team boss from 2009 to 2013, when he was ousted after an uncompetitive season.

He will take the reins of a hopeful upstart team that's already taken to the waters of Bermuda where the next America's Cup racing will get underway two years from now.

But according to My Sailing, their training will also be conducted on dry land thanks to the latest 3D simulation technology borrowed, appropriately, from the F1 world.

The virtual reality simulator was developed by Dr James Roche, himself a former McLaren employee, who used similar tech to help Lizzy Yarnold to Olympic gold for Britain at Sochi earlier this year.

My Sailing has more on the story HERE.

Published in America's Cup

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

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.

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

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).

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.

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