Victorian boating activity to double

The Boating Industry Association of Victoria (BIAV) has forecast that the projected population increase in the central coast area of Victoria including Port Phillip and Western Port, from 4.6 million to nearly 8 million by 2050, will see a doubling of boating activities that will boost Victoria’s 'Blue Economy'.

Speaking at Geelong, Steven Potts, Chief Executive of the BIAV, said to maximise the employment potential of Port Phillip Bay, the world-class aquatic tourism destinations and activities on Port Phillip Bay should be given prominence in state, national and international tourism promotion.

Mr Potts also said it was vital to ensure future planning of Port Phillip Bay was not one dimensional and that an appropriate framework was developed to encourage investment and tourism facilities, which could underpin much-needed long-term and sustained employment in Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula.

Tourism Australia’s latest consumer research, carried out in 11 of Australia’s most important inbound markets — China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, UK and USA — supports the promotion of aquatic and coastal experiences, which are highly sought after today and will be in the future.

Mr Potts said: "It is vital to consider the environment, access to water and the role of our coastal areas and bays in Victoria’s economic and social fabric, as important and irreplaceable parts of Victoria’s infrastructure, making future planning and management of the bays a high priority."

"We believe there needs to be a serious community discussion at State and National level on creating a Blue Infrastructure Future Fund taskforce to maximise the employment, investment, environmental and tourism potential of Port Phillip and Western Port Bays.

"The simple fact is that to cope with the population increase in the next 20 years, and the impact of climate change, billions of dollars will need to be found to protect both of Victoria’s major environmental and economic assets – Port Phillip and Western Port Bays.

"Given the Victorian and Federal Government’s current budget problems for major funding of projects, the most community and financially responsible strategy is to leverage private sector proposals, which add value to the environmental and economic assets of Victoria that complement Government strategies to get projects completed without long delays to generate employment," Mr Potts said.

Currently 95 per cent of the Victorian recreation vessels are trailered, less than 8 metres in length, with 68 per cent of Victoria’s 172,000 registered boats being operated on Port Phillip and Western Port Bays.

The 2014 Victorian Boating Survey found the most common boat in Victoria is a four to five metre cabin vessel valued from $15,000 to $25,000.

Mr Potts said with Melbourne’s population projected to double, the current use of the Bays by the community will increase, considerably, especially with a lack of green space, and the community in rapidly growing areas will turn towards the use of 'Blue Space' on the water.

"Whilst this expansion creates funding challenges, it also creates an opportunity to increase employment in the marine and associated industries through areas such as boating destination tourism.

"Boating holidays are becoming more desirable to boat owners thanks to cheaper petrol prices, better trailers, and larger trailable boats."

Roy Morgan Research in 2014 found that 86 per cent of boat owners planned to take a boating trip within the next 12 months.

Mr Potts said boating destination tourism provided a valuable economic contribution to regional and country areas with expenditure in a range of areas from accommodation to food and fuel.

Victoria’s marine industry employs over 17,700 EFT and contributes $4.6 billion to the Victorian economy annually.