dhays
Guru
- Joined
- May 26, 2015
- Messages
- 9,413
- Location
- Gig Harbor, WA
- Vessel Name
- Kinship
- Vessel Make
- 2010 North Pacific 43
This quote from another thread got me thinking about why certain municipalities invest in facilities and staff for transient boaters.
This summer I stayed in Powell River twice and Comox once. I was very impressed by both. Maybe because transient boaters are a significant part of the marine economy, but they seemed to go out of their way to make us welcome.
Both of those marinas are owned by the city I believe. It seems as if the cities have decided that they want their Southern neighbors to come and spend our money in their fuel docks, restaurants, chandleries, and grocery stores. Recreational boaters do provide a boost to the economy with both tax revenue and jobs.
FWIW, Kingston Marina on Bainbridge Island is another publicly owned marina that goes out of its way to make transient boaters welcome and serve their needs. Hopefully, the idea that if you provide decent facilities and good service, boaters will come and spend money providing a net gain for your economy.
I was a bit curious about what the effect of transient boaters are on the economy of an area and tried to find some information. I didn't find a lot.
There was a University of Maryland study back in 2005 that found that transient boaters spend $154 million in Maryland for an economic impact of $186 million and could be linked to over 2600 FTE jobs.
In 2013 the Port of Seattle estimated that about 4,800 transient boats used Bell Harbor and Shilshole Marinas in 2013. They estimate that those boats accounted for almost $964,000 in local spending beyond what was spent on transient moorage fees charged by the Port. That spending included food/lodging, retail, entertainment, and local transportation.
The Port of Olympia's Swantown marina had about 4000 visitor nights in 2014. If visitors in Olympia only spent a 1/4 of what they might spend in the Port of Seattle, that still amounts to $200,000 a year of non-moorage spending from transient boaters.
Lots of information about the impact of recreational boaters on the local economy. Not as much on the effect of transient boaters. It seems to me that it is clear that recreational boating is an important income mix for ports and waterfront communities. If you already have the infrastructure in place for recreational boating, the marginal expense to expand and improve the facilities and services for transient boaters is relatively small. Transients don't spend as much money as resident boats on repair facilities, but they spend higher amounts on entertainment such as food/drink.
While not quite an "if you build it they will come" scenario, I think that some ports and cities in the PNW (and maybe southern BC Coast) are beginning to look at ways to tap into the transient boat market in a bigger way.
BC in comparison amazes me with the interest and willingness to make life by the sea for transient boaters and residents more interesting, cleaner and safer. Comox, Powell River, Prince Rupert and Chemainus come me to mind. Alaska the same, many Marina improvements.
This summer I stayed in Powell River twice and Comox once. I was very impressed by both. Maybe because transient boaters are a significant part of the marine economy, but they seemed to go out of their way to make us welcome.
Both of those marinas are owned by the city I believe. It seems as if the cities have decided that they want their Southern neighbors to come and spend our money in their fuel docks, restaurants, chandleries, and grocery stores. Recreational boaters do provide a boost to the economy with both tax revenue and jobs.
FWIW, Kingston Marina on Bainbridge Island is another publicly owned marina that goes out of its way to make transient boaters welcome and serve their needs. Hopefully, the idea that if you provide decent facilities and good service, boaters will come and spend money providing a net gain for your economy.
I was a bit curious about what the effect of transient boaters are on the economy of an area and tried to find some information. I didn't find a lot.
There was a University of Maryland study back in 2005 that found that transient boaters spend $154 million in Maryland for an economic impact of $186 million and could be linked to over 2600 FTE jobs.
In 2013 the Port of Seattle estimated that about 4,800 transient boats used Bell Harbor and Shilshole Marinas in 2013. They estimate that those boats accounted for almost $964,000 in local spending beyond what was spent on transient moorage fees charged by the Port. That spending included food/lodging, retail, entertainment, and local transportation.
The Port of Olympia's Swantown marina had about 4000 visitor nights in 2014. If visitors in Olympia only spent a 1/4 of what they might spend in the Port of Seattle, that still amounts to $200,000 a year of non-moorage spending from transient boaters.
Lots of information about the impact of recreational boaters on the local economy. Not as much on the effect of transient boaters. It seems to me that it is clear that recreational boating is an important income mix for ports and waterfront communities. If you already have the infrastructure in place for recreational boating, the marginal expense to expand and improve the facilities and services for transient boaters is relatively small. Transients don't spend as much money as resident boats on repair facilities, but they spend higher amounts on entertainment such as food/drink.
While not quite an "if you build it they will come" scenario, I think that some ports and cities in the PNW (and maybe southern BC Coast) are beginning to look at ways to tap into the transient boat market in a bigger way.