Leisure boating on federal waterways is an important economic factor. According to a study commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, water tourism generates more than 4.2 billion euros in gross revenue each year. In Brandenburg and Berlin alone, it generates an annual turnover of 200 million euros in relation to commercial boat tourism, passenger shipping and harbours. Added to this are further revenues, primarily from day boat hire and spending by boat holidaymakers with their own boat.
The water sports industry recorded considerable growth in 2020, not least due to the pandemic-related increase in domestic tourism. Due to climate policy considerations and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the trend towards domestic tourism is expected to continue to grow. Water sports and water tourism are also an important driver for the economic development of rural areas, as they offer a wide range of employment opportunities, for example. Against this backdrop - outlined in the recently published Masterplan for Recreational Boating by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) - it seems only logical to strengthen and further develop this economic factor in the long term.
However, the focus of the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration has so far been on freight transport. Like the secondary waterways on which it is primarily based, leisure shipping was considered a minor matter. In fact, it did not officially take place at all. This was partly due to an approximately 100-year-old definition - "serving general traffic" - from the previous Waterways Act. "At that time, there was no such thing as recreational shipping in today's sense," explained Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer on 8 June at the presentation of the master plan for this very shipping sector. With the amendment to the Waterways Act a few weeks ago, this definition was expanded to include leisure shipping in line with the times. "A really big step," said Scheuer.
Like the strategy paper itself. "With the Masterplan for Leisure Shipping, we are further expanding the infrastructure and harmonising leisure and ecology even better. The entire waterway system will benefit from this - so that future generations can also live on, with and with the water."
The measures in the Masterplan for Leisure Shipping relate to a total of five fields of action: Infrastructure, Navigation, Digitalisation, Environment and Communication and Cooperation (see the corresponding pictograms). Examples:
- Optimised networking of existing digital processes and IT systems
- Digitalisation of lock management, e.g. automation of locks, display of waiting times for users
- Repair of existing infrastructure with a view to user needs, such as handholds or boat transfer systems
- Expansion of moorings and berths outside the waiting area of locks
- More fuel and charging stations as well as supply and disposal points
- Promotion of environmentally and climate-friendly ship operation, e.g. through the development and use of alternative drives and fuels
- More transparency and public participation in measures on federal waterways
- Faster planning, construction and operation through new contract design and the use of new or alternative construction methods and materials
- Promotion of the development of federally owned service roads along federal waterways for cycling by local authorities or third parties
Several measures have already been initiated, such as the automation of locks and the expansion of cycle paths. Others are to follow in coordination with regional stakeholders.
A regional conference on the future of secondary waterways in Oranienburg on 2 March 2020 also marked the start of public participation in the master plan for sport and leisure boating; a further development of the BMVI's water tourism concept from 2016. Enak Ferlemann, Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMVI, played a central role in this: "Water tourism has developed into a key economic factor, particularly in the north-east. The locks and weirs outside the core network, some of which are historic, present us with major challenges. However, we recognise our responsibility for a sustainable waterway infrastructure. That is why we are now working with the federal states, associations and local authorities to develop a plan of measures to improve sport and leisure shipping on the secondary waterways." Ferlemann, whom Scheuer called the "father of the masterplan" at the presentation, kept his word.
Following the presentation of the strategy paper, a virtual panel discussion focussed on the future of water tourism and the sustainability of leisure shipping on German waterways. The invited guests - Dr Norbert Salomon, Head of the Waterways and Shipping Department at the BMVI, Prof. Dr Hans-Heinrich Witte, President of the Directorate-General for Waterways and Shipping, Petros Michelidakis, Director of boot Düsseldorf, Norbert Kunz, Managing Director of the German Tourism Association, Robert Marx, President of the Federal Association of the Water Sports Industry, and Matthias Wedepohl, water tourism expert from Project M - presented their visions for the further development of leisure boating.
Among other things, the prioritisation of infrastructure measures, the sustainable use of water and land-based infrastructure and the strengthening of domestic tourism through the development of gastronomy and cultural offerings as well as the increased use of climate-friendly drives were addressed. At the end of the event, Gesa Schwoon, Head of the Department for the Management of Secondary Waterways at the BMVI, reviewed the intensive participation process. It had been conducted exclusively online since the first lockdown, but nevertheless - perhaps even because of this? - was very well received.
"The publication of the master plan is not the end of the dialogue," emphasised Gesa Schwoon. "Paper is patient, we now have to bring it to life." Anyone interested in the details can find them on the following website: https://masterplan-freizeitschifffahrt.bund.de
