Nautical Tourism Development through Integrated Planning

In this paper, the authors present a systematic and comprehensive analysis of scenario methods in the integrated planning of nautical port and marina sites. The subject of research is nautical ports and marinas as facilities having the greatest importance for nautical tourism development and for boaters. The optimum scenario for their development is determined, and marina carrying capacity is identified taking into account the given limits of growth and development. Carrying capacity is a factor central to putting in place the concept of sustainable tourism development. Although a number of researchers have addressed this issue in the past few years, they have failed to formulate a singular technique of what would be the simplest way of determining a destination’s carrying capacity. Recent studies have pointed to new problems that arise in measuring carrying capacity, in particular, in relation to planning locations for and constructing new nautical ports and determining their capacities. Nautical tourism, nautical ports and marinas represent a complex field requiring comprehensive, interdisciplinary research that must involve sociologists, psychologists, technologists, technicians, spatial planners, biologists and ecologists, in addition to economists, as well as professionals of other profiles depending upon the case at hand.