Blue Marina Awards

Participation in the Blue Marina Awards: The Evaluation Process

The system wins

All tourist ports are the protagonists of the Blue Marina Awards.

There are no winners or losers.
It is not a competition “against one another”: it is a shared pathway to shine a spotlight on marinas and the territories that host them, recognizing the commitment of those who work every day to improve.

The Blue Marina Awards encourage continuous growth on increasingly central themes: sustainability, hospitality, inclusivity, innovation, and safety. Because a marina is not just an infrastructure asset: it is a gateway to nautical and experiential tourism, and a driver of inclusive and sustainable development.

Here, success is shared: each participant can assess itself, stand out, understand where to improve, and find points of reference.
Because when one facility grows, the surrounding territory grows too. And when the territory grows, the system grows.

The system wins, because the sea brings people together.
The only ones who lose are those who do not take part.

The Path to Excellence: The Rigorous Evaluation Process of the Blue Marina Awards

All marinas can participate free of charge in the annual editions of the Blue Marina Awards.

Each edition includes an evaluation based on transparent and objective criteria, published in the participation rules. Marinas are assessed on concrete aspects related to:

  • Environmental sustainability and energy

  • Hospitality and inclusivity (service quality and accessibility)

  • Innovation (technology and digitalization)

  • Safety

The areas of evaluation may evolve from year to year, in order to reflect market changes and the sector’s emerging competitiveness needs.

Facilities that exceed the assessment threshold are awarded the Seal of Excellence for Marinas: a mark of excellence valid for one year, demonstrating a real and measurable commitment. It is an achievement, but also a starting point: the goal is to encourage continuous improvement by promoting a shared direction for the growth of the entire system.

Facilities that do not obtain the recognition still receive useful feedback to clearly understand where action is needed and how to prepare for the following edition.

In any case, all participants receive an assessment certificate that provides a snapshot of the current state of play and offers practical guidance for continuing the journey, with the aim of maintaining or obtaining the recognition in the next edition.

The Blue Marina Awards are a pathway of awareness and growth that encourages marinas to improve over time, enhancing both the facilities and the territories that host them. The ultimate goal is for all marina facilities, progressively, to achieve recognition: a sign of widespread quality that strengthens the competitiveness, inclusivity, and sustainability of the system as a whole.