Continuing the sustainability programme

Located in Abruzzo in central Italy, a region dominated by snow-capped mountains, wild nature, ancient memories and fabulous seas, Marina di Pescara is much loved by the British, Italians and Northern Europeans. Donatella Zucca asked marina director Bruno Santori to talk shop.

With 1,000 berths at a combination of 22 fixed and floating docks and a shipyard with 40 and 100 ton boat hoists, Marina di Pescara has for many years been one of the largest port facilities on the Italian Adriatic. Just 3km (1.8mi) from an international airport and in close proximity to ski slopes, it is a destination within a destination – and the environment is key.
Getting greener
“For us, environmental and sustainability sensitivity are part of a discussion that began at least ten years ago when we were among the first Italian ports to carry out separate waste collection directly on the docks,” Bruno Santori says. “Obviously, we didn’t stop there as over the years the various boards of directors have always paid attention to environmental issues. One of the most important was the installation of a reverse osmosis water maker in 2018, which transforms sea water into fresh water and is used for irrigation and boat wash purposes. This means we are independent from the public supply and self-sufficient for these things. Water is a resource to be protected.”
The marina’s green mission has secured it a European Blue Flag since 1990, TYHA 4 Gold Anchor status, and an assured place in the Assonat Porto Sostenibile project.
“Retaining the FEE Blue Flag is a dynamic process,” Santori explains. “It requires doing more every single year and, in 34 years, we’ve put a lot of irons in the fire. For example, we host two Seabin devices, which collect waste from the surface of the water and prevent it falling to the seabed where it would interfere with the ecosystem.”
The marina’s Gold Anchors were awarded in 2012, making Marina di Pescara the only tourist port in Italy at the time with such an accolade. Santori says that the path to securing the anchors overlapped with actions taken to secure the Blue Flag but that the main focus for the Gold Anchors was on management. “It rewards the services, the level of professionalism in the port, the safety equipment and so on, but from a very market-oriented perspective.”
The Porto Sostenibile accreditation, run by the Italian trade association Assonat, is also important as it measures performance in environmental, social and economic areas as well as financial status and digitalisation. The model was implemented via a pilot project of 12 marinas, one of which was Marina di Pescara, and now issues ethical sustainability statements. “This is an important step,” Santori insists,” as it helps us understand what is right, wrong or in need of improvement and is a label of guarantee for external stakeholders. It’s a passport for managerial and environmental correctness for customers and potential suppliers, and it’s also useful in the concession procedures.”
Owned 100% by the Chieti-Pescara Chamber of Commerce, the marina has been led since 2023 by a new board of directors chaired by Gianni Taucci, all of whom are further committed to increasing performance. New energy-saving electricity and water pedestals were announced last year and other energy efficiencies are on the cards.
“The water interventions I mentioned before also have lower production costs than if we took water from the mains,” Santori notes,” but we’ve also looked at the issue of charging stations. In addition to equipping the marina with systems that can be managed remotely with the necessary digitised features, we’ve reduced the cost of energy and water in the marina by 45%. We no longer have indiscriminate consumption invoiced at a flat rate so we’ve reduced our environmental impact by saving water and electricity consumption, which translates into reduced release of CO2.”
Changing demographics
Marina di Pescara has an enviable turnover, especially as its annual profit increased in 2022 by €68,229 (turnover €2,805,857) with only 50% berth occupancy. How well did the marina do in 2023 and how is 2024 panning out? “Out of 1,000 places, we have 700 occupied on a long-term basis and an average of 200 to 250 in annual and monthly rentals, depending on the type of contract. What we are witnessing and focusing on is the positive impact of the generational turnover that is happening now. The marina was established in the late 80s and early 90s so the boat owners of these years are now handing over to new generations, which is our insurance for the future.”
Young people, however, use the marina differently. “There was a generation gap in sailing but today young enthusiasts, many of whom started at sailing and dinghy school, are coming back. There was an historic phase between the old and new millennia in which this step was missing for reasons I cannot explain. Among the new boaters, however, I see a proportional growth of motor compared to sail. The prospects are comforting but, as we only have 11 years left of our current concession, we are trying to increase the number of long-term contracts.”
The board of directors also actively seeks to secure, maintain and increase visitor interest and last year president Gianni Taucci announced a plan to initiate winter season training and education activities for boaters and local residents to complement the summer season programme.
“The new board of directors took office in October and we essentially spent the winter preparing for the 2024 summer season, focusing on a greater relationship with users and making use of the collaboration with Assonautica Pescara-Chieti,” Santori explains. “The Peripheral Assonautica Italiana organisation embraces the entire nautical chain for the promotion and development of the sea economy including pleasure boating and nautical tourism. To extend summer activities into winter, we can also use the covered spaces offered by the Chamber of Commerce – but the summer here is very long!” he adds.
This is just one example of how the Chamber of Commerce influences a marina in which it has a totally vested interest. “It is a 100% shareholder and recognises the marina’s economic value. It therefore has a strong motivation to support and enhance its role. In addition to the marina staff, a real industry revolves around the port as around 200 people pass through the gates daily to work here. Then there is the economy generated and multiplied by the marina activities, such as nautical supplies, clothing, catering, boatbuilding etc., which contributes to making the port one of the top companies in Pescara.”
A hub for visitors
Santori’s aim is for the marina to cover all bases as a departure, arrivals and transit place. “We cannot think of competing with Croatia or other destinations in the eastern Adriatic as here there are no islands, bays or attractive shelters, but our trump card is Pescara as a city,” he says.
“Boat owners from anywhere in Europe can reach their boat five minutes from the airport after a few hours of flight time. This is very important and is demonstrated by the growth of foreigners from Great Britain, Germany and even Scandinavia as permanent residents. English dominates in terms of foreign languages spoken and has always been used most in the nautical world, and the British are crazy about Abruzzo. We’ve also seen a significant influx of yachtsmen from Poland.”
Visitors can enjoy the wild natural mountainous terrain although more could be done to promote the location. “It could have a much greater impact if an integrated tourist marketing strategy was implemented. In some ways, Abruzzo is still an unexplored region and, in my opinion, there are still enormous margins to be exploited. We are trying here. For example, we are consolidating a network among the other regional tourist destinations in order to create a single interlocutor in the region, a main player for promoting tourism.”
“There are many places to visit, such as the first medieval villages – little known gems – just 3km (1.8mi) away, and the Maiella foothills a few kilometres further on, dotted with hermitages, monasteries and natural beauty spots. The wild component takes over towards the regional capital L’Aquila, which has several medieval and renaissance masterpieces.”
While much is available to explore locally and regionally, the marina itself has its lure. “The most visited place is the shopping centre – or rather the part of the Piazzetta that hosts various activities and dining options. Some of these are quite renowned, and it’s the place to be for all summer events, as a meeting point for visitors and for the citizens of Pescara.”