Maritime economy and tourism

This year, 650 visitors and nearly 40 speakers from both Poland and abroad attended the 19th Maritime Economy Forum in Gdynia. Katarzyna Gruszecka-Spychała, Gdynia’s Deputy Mayor, emphasized the significance and dynamics of the Sea City development, which is becoming a support network for companies operating in the maritime economy sector.

The main theme of this year’s Forum was “Development prospects of maritime economy in the EU countries in the context of world markets”. The experts discussions were conducted concurrently in four subject areas dealing with the latest trends and challenges in modern economy: Maritime Technologies, Sea Ports and Logistics, Law and Finance as well as Shipping.

“At present maritime economy is an exceptionally buoyant industry, which frequently utilizes the cutting edge technologies from the innovative sector. A close collaboration between intelligent technologies and effective management methods is an imperative in our modern reality,” stated Katarzyna Gruszecka–Spychała, Deputy Mayor of Gdynia who attended the Forum.

An example of such a collaboration provided by the Deputy Mayor is the Constructors’ Park in Gdynia, which is operating from the former shipyard premises.
“It is a place where companies can test prototype technological solutions. It provides a shortcut for the implementation of daring novel ideas – which is a way to modernize and develop the maritime industry,” the Deputy Mayor said.
The local government authorities stress the importance of the close relationship between the city and the sea. The re-vitalization of the former shipyard premises so that they are re-incorporated into the city and used by its residents, is another example of the city’s focus on the sea, as an important sector of the region’s economy.

“The Port of Gdynia achieves the best results in its entire history, which instils optimism and is a source of pride. A new Ferry Terminal is under construction, and a dozen or so large companies operate on the former shipyard premises.
A new component introduced at this year’s Forum was a seminar entitled On-shore Tourism [Turystyka od Morza] devoted to trends and tendencies linked to tourism in the coastal areas. During two thematic blocks experts discussed the needs and the changes taking place in both the cruising and sailing tourism components, in the Baltic Sea region. The panellists searched for links between changing needs of marine and cruise tourists , and the competition that is present on the tourism market in terms of tourist products, which included the example of the Scandinavian markets.

A representative from the Pomeranian Regional Tourist Organisation drew attention to the changing life style, which in turn influences the transformations in the tourism trends. Nowadays tourists travel more frequently, but their trips are shorter. Short trips of several days duration to destinations closer to one’s place of residence are becoming very popular. Hence the experts predict a increase in popularity of marine tourism, which offers the possibility of fast and comfortable travel. Another growing tendency in travel is the so-called leisure travel, which is the activity of combining business travel with leisure time. The seminar participants discussed the ways that these trends in tourism could be utilized in creating a holiday package that meets the needs and expectations of the modern tourist.

photo Paweł Kukla/UM Gdynia