Brieuc Morin, secretary general of the Association des Ports de Plaisance de Bretagne (APPB) explains the projects of the structure for the mandate of its new president Michael Quernez.
Can you remind us in a few words what the Association of Marinas of Brittany represents?
Brieuc Morin: The association is quite old and brings together marinas in the Brittany region and beyond, from the Loire-Atlantique to Granville. The increase in the number of members shows a good dynamic. We have gone from less than 60 ports 3 years ago to more than 70 today and new ones are planned for 2018. All the structuring ports are present.
In January, you held your first board meeting since Michael Quernez was elected president. What actions were decided?
Brieuc Morin: Concrete actions will be decided in March. First of all, we organized a 3-hour discussion, so that everyone could bring their ideas and we could define the main lines of work for the 3 years of Michael Quernez's mandate. Four main areas emerged.
The first is the work for the members. We must provide legal, technical and management support to marina staff. The technical days that we organize in partnership with the Association des Ports de Plaisance de l'Atlantique are a success. They allow the different actors to meet each other. We will continue this program. In 2018, the themes will be liability and safety.
The second axis is the correct identification of the clientele. The sociology of our clientele is changing rapidly. Before, there was one customer to whom we provided an answer. Today, there are at least five or six different customer profiles to whom we have to provide different offers, such as collaborative boating or boat clubs. The yachtsman who started out buying a Sangria and ended up retiring 30 years later with a big boat, is no longer the case. Customers no longer have a linear path. Our goal is to keep current customers and bring in new ones with new offerings. The relative decrease in the number of seasoned boaters penalizes complex bodies of water like North Brittany. People are looking for simple solutions. The success of the dry port for small boats, as we have seen at Sellor, confirms that with the right service, we can attract customers who would not have come with the complications of a wet port.
We also have a lobbying role with the State on issues such as dredging or port agents' certificates. We have to show that we are different from a commercial port in terms of environmental impact and financial capacity. We rely on our seat on the board of directors of the Confédération du Nautisme et de la Plaisance.
Finally, we will continue our role of joint promotion of member ports. Before, we were scattered, which is more expensive and less effective. The joint APPB stand, as we did in Southampton and Jersey, and as we may do tomorrow in Düsseldorf, is very effective and well received. In addition, it is a way for the teams to meet and exchange.
