Urban and Territorial Accessibility. A New Role for the Marinas

Accessibility is considered a driving factor of territorial development, as well as a key performance indicator of cohesion policies. The accessibility indicators, in particular, describe how well the transport systems connect the different part of territory and provide interaction opportunities. The currently available indicators range from location accessibility to network efficiency, potential accessibility and daily accessibility. However, in this framework a player is not yet considered: the marinas. Until now the marinas are considered just as part of the infrastructure necessary to nautical tourism development and from this viewpoint their role is to provide safe points to access to the water and electricity and providing secure locations to store boats. Nevertheless, the sector of marinas is very dynamic. It contributes decisively to the development of local economies in particular of Mediterranean countries and Northern Europe cities. Many marinas provide additional nautical and ancillary leisure activities and can be visitor attractions in their own right. They also create demand for boating and other tourism products and services and facilitate linkages between nautical and coastal tourism. They have the potential to act as economic hubs for regional development and can catalyze the development of coastal tourism in specific locations. In this perspective, the role of marinas could be reconsidered, transforming them in gateway able to push in sustainable way urban and regional economy moving the touristic flows from the coastal to the internal areas.