Nautical stations in Catalonia, where the Costa Brava Centre has gone from having a base in Palamós to Sant Feliu de Guíxols.

Water tourism is on the rise and this is demonstrated by the billing data of the 570 companies that are associated with the seven nautical stations in Catalonia and that in the last year are at 320 million euros. Of these, 194 million are for the three nautical stations in Girona, which have a total of 359 companies; 88 million for the two nautical stations in Tarragona, which have 148 companies; and 38 million for the two nautical stations in Barcelona which have 63 associated companies.

Most of the companies that carry out this type of activities in the catering, hotel and service sector are small (they occupy between 4 and 6 workers) and have a turnover of about 600,000 euros on average per year. The management model of the nautical stations includes a public-private collaboration involving local companies and municipalities of the seven destinations specialized in Catalonia in this segment.

The Nautical Stations of Roses, the Estartit, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Costa Dorada, Santa Susanna and Vilanova and the Geltru face the summer season with two great objectives: to position Catalonia as a destination of nautical tourism par excellence, not only from June to September, also during the months of March, April, May, October and November; and to place the nautical within reach of all. The idea is to make the most of the great potential of Catalan beaches and marine natural resources to practice nautical activities and activities related to the territory such as cycling, hiking or bird observation.

More than 750 products
The Catalan nautical stations offer together more than 750 products related to the nautical tourism and the territory, which are marketed through the station offices, at the points that have the stations distributed through the territory, through the web portals or directly from the companies that offer them. The idea is to continue to value all the assets around the sea and the territory. Its commitment is to offer unique products, to surprise with new proposals each season and to carry out powerful promotional campaigns and to create product packages to capture the millions of nautical tourists in Europe. The most requested activities are the paddel surf, the kitesurf and the flybaord and the profile of the nautical tourist is the European customer, mostly French, Belgian, Dutch and also Spanish, although recently an increase of the British has been detected.

The Flyboard is one of the last ways to join the nautical world.

Positive indicators for the seven stations
The seven Catalan nautical stations are preparing to face a season with good prospects after the previous one left some positive indicators.

• The Sant Feliu Nautical Station of Guíxols Costa Brava: is the youngest of the stations: it was created in 2014. It has launched a very innovative product that consists of fishing from the seabed of the Bay of S'Agaró wine bottles that have been aged for 18 months under the sea. The activity, called "Enological Immersion" is being very welcome among tourists.

• The Nautical Station of Sant Carles de la Ràpita - Delta del Ebro: In 2015 he made 20 percent more direct sales. Among its most innovative activities is the rental of untitled boats that allows the tourist to navigate the Bay of the Alfacs without having any permission and to be captain for one day.

• The Costa Dorada Nautical Station: The information point that they have on the beach of Salou has recorded in June a significant increase of reservations, and from January to now has received 50,000 visits on their website. This station offers a unique product in the world that consists of snorkeling among giant tuna in a swimming pool located in the sea. The activity is complemented by a tasting of this product.

• The Nautical Station of Santa Susanna: from among the range of nautical activities it is committed to sailing and windsurfing although it has recently launched an attractive activity linked to the territory that consists of routes guided by the six surveillance towers in the municipality. The town has the most surveillance towers of the Maresme.

• Vilanova Nautical Station and Geltru: This season they have launched a new product and marketing platform: www.envilanova.com. Sail and kayak are their central activities. In addition, they have extended the experiences they offer around ecotourism and enoturism as walking, on segway or on a bike through the vineyards of the area or the possibility of doing workshops in the middle of the vineyards.

• The Roses-Cap de Creus nautical station: has consolidated the "Fisheries Tourism," a very innovative activity that launched 2013 in a pioneering way to value the work of the fishermen and that gives the tourist the opportunity to be a fisherman for a day. In addition, Roses has made a strong commitment to sailing: this year he will host for the sixth time the tour from France to Vela, the most important nautical test in Europe that generates an economic impact on the territory of 600 thousand euros. Guided tours to the fishing port also give rise to great interest: last year it recorded about 1,200.

• The Nautical Station of the State-Illes Medes: It was created in 1998. Sales of products increased by 12 percent in 2015 compared to 2014. The immersion in the Medes is one of its main activities. In addition, this season has launched a very innovative activity to value the profession of pastor. The activity is called "Return the Pastors" and consists of exhibitions of herding dogs with sheep, geese and ducks; it also shows how a messiah works and the animals that can be found in it.

The seven nautical stations of Catalonia celebrate each year the Festival of the Sea, a day of open doors that aims to show visitors the full tourist potential of each municipality and to disseminate the attractions of each area. The activities can be carried out for up to 5 euros.

The sector has in recent years set out to make a joint promotion in the nautical halls of Barcelona, Paris and Düsseldorf.