A dynamic boating industry augurs a world of business opportunities for local property developers. Our country’s potential to emerge as the leading player in marina development within the region is anchored heavily on the extent of developmental efforts that focus on maximizing our natural features. With the Philippines boasting of the third longest coastline in the world, it really puzzles me so much as to why we aren’t as aggressive in developing this God-given gift as a viable economic growth area?

Over the weekend my team and I joined our good friends Angelo Olondriz, chairman of SEA-EX 2015; and Martial Beck, general manager and vice president of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, together with some of our partners from various media outfits, over at Club Punta Fuego in Nasugbu, Batangas, for a relaxed afternoon out in the sea. But more than just enjoying the majestic waters off Nasugbu and the privilege of cruising on a Lagoon 500 catamaran, what we really aimed that day was to initiate greater awareness about the potential of the local boating and marina development sector in helping the Philippines strengthen its position as the Carribean and the Mediterranean of the Far East. 

A bright future ahead

Real-estate companies, like Ayala Land and SM Land Inc., have began conceptualizing coastal-development projects to reinforce the Philippines’s claim as the next promising investment destination in the region. Other industry players, too, are planning to put up more resort and leisure developments in the coming years, as the country’s tourism and investment sector continues to grow by leaps every year.

Ayala Land, for one, hopes to replicate the success it enjoyed with Anvaya Cove—a 470-hectare high-end residential-leisure development in Morong, Bataan—as it looks to develop a 100-hectare ecotourism resort community in El Nido, Palawan (Lio), and possibly another high-end seaside mixed-used community at the former Puerto Azul property in Ternate, Cavite. SM Land Inc., on the other hand, takes pride in the success of Pico de Loro Cove at Hamilo Coast—the company’s large-scale ecotourism and leisure project in Nasugbu, Batangas.

As Architect Jun Palafox shared during the recent SEA-EX news conference, waterfront developments around the world have high-amenity value and create greater value for communities. “We see a lot of potential in strengthening this industry, as long as we do adaptive architecture and adaptive engineering,” Palafox said, allaying fears about the dangers posed by natural calamities like tsunamis and storm surges. “All developers have to do is simply determine the highest flood line and build an elaborate infrastructure from that point.”

More important, coastal areas offer plenty of opportunities for recreational activities. As a result, they attract lots of enterprises and people, which, in turn, require other services and establishments to address their residential and recreational needs.

There are more than enough opportunities and resources to maximize the potential of waterfront development, particularly in an archipelago like the Philippines, whose coastline covers more than 18,000 kilometers—a great portion of which remains undeveloped despite the country enjoying continued economic growth. These spaces carry valuable economic potentials that need to be fully understood, acknowledged and realized by stakeholders from both the public and the private sector.

“Coastal and marina development is a tried and tested formula that has been a thriving economic activity in some of the most developed countries of the world,” Olondiz added. “You can just take a look at what happened to Sabang in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Before, it was just a jump-off point for tourists wanting to see the Underground River. But the moment the Underground River was named one of the world’s natural wonders, the local economy of Sabang just took off.”

What’s holding investors back?

“Investors are not convinced about the demand for marinas and yachts and pleasure boats, which is, in our honest opinion, simply not correct,” said Robin Wyatt, managing director of Europa Yachts, the exclusive distributor of Azimut, Beneteau (sail and power) and Lagoon catamarans in the Philippines.

“Many potential investors—developers, boat builders and pleasure boat buyers, for example—would proceed if only a more supportive infrastructure was in place. Build it and they will all come, for sure.”

The boating sector, Wyatt shared, is also a very unique industry that champions all-inclusive growth, particularly for coastal towns and communities.

“It’s an industry spearheaded by people who do not only have the capacity to sustain a lifestyle, but also empower communities. If you look at it closely, the story of the marina development and boating industry is really about the more capable group of people spending their resources and distributing it to local communities,” he said. “A touring 100-foot leisure boat, for example, spends about $10,000 a day—for accommodation, for repairs, for replenishing supplies and many other auxiliary services—all of which trickle down to the members of the community hosting them.”

Another thing that’s really keeping this industry from growing are the problems posed by our antiquated laws, something that needs to be addressed with urgency if we are to focus our sights on helping the marina development sector prosper.

“Of course, we have to address the challenges, the obsolete laws, corruption, criminality and climate change, which, I think, are being addressed now,” Palafox noted. If you look at all the steps being taken, and with substantial help from the global community, we can really address a lot of challenges from other industries, like tourism, health care, wellness, waterfront developments, vacation homes and many other more. The markets that get attracted to these kinds of developments are people with deeper pockets—high-value tourists. At the moment, we are catering to the backpackers, but with the marinas, we can attract people who own yachts, who regularly go on a cruise, and people who will invest in a variety of industries in the Philippines.”

Sidenote. I would like to invite everyone to come over at the SMX Convention Center from February 20 to 22 for SEA-EX 2015. One of the key highlights of this year’s expo will be the three-day conference within the show that will feature important themes related to the marine industry in the Philippines.

This year SEA-EX will be bringing in international and local speakers to share their insights on a variety of topics: 1) promoting the Philippines as a mecca for marine tourism; (2) developing the country’s boat manufacturing and marina development industry; and (3) sustainable development and protecting the Philippines’s marine biodiversity for ecotourism.