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R$ 100 million project transforms Marina Itajaí into a new hub for tourism, leisure, and nautical business, while Brazil faces a growing deficit of berths for boats and accelerates the expansion of a billion-dollar market
The advancement of the Brazilian nautical market is beginning to take new shape in Santa Catarina. Amid the accelerated growth of the sector and the high demand for support structures for boats in the country, Marina Itajaí announced the expansion of its complex with an investment of R$ 100 million in the construction of Boulevard Marina Itajaí, an enterprise pointed out as the largest nautical shopping center in Brazil.
The information was released by Marina Itajaí in 2026, in Itajaí, on the North Coast of Santa Catarina, and reinforces the movement of a sector experiencing a moment of expansion in the country. According to a projection by the consultancy Business Research Insights, the global marina market is expected to move US$ 10.51 billion by 2026, driven by the growth of nautical tourism, the increase in the number of boats, and the search for integrated leisure and service experiences.
The new enterprise will be built within the nautical complex of the city in Santa Catarina and is expected to significantly expand the already existing structure. Moreover, the project arises at a strategic moment when Brazil faces an estimated deficit of 60,000 berthing spaces.
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Marina Itajaí bets on nautical shopping center with almost 40,000 square meters
Boulevard Marina Itajaí is under construction and will have about 38,000 square meters of total area. The space is designed to host approximately 78 commercial operations, including restaurants, a premium supermarket, coworking spaces, social areas, event spaces, and parking.
The proposal goes beyond a traditional shopping center. The concept of the enterprise follows an international trend of transforming marinas into complete ecosystems of leisure, tourism, gastronomy, and business.
According to information released by Marina Itajaí itself, the expansion seeks to meet a new consumer profile, which looks for integrated experiences in a single environment. Thus, the complex intends to establish itself not only as a nautical support structure but also as a new tourist and economic destination in the region.
The strategic location of Itajaí also contributes to the advancement of this model. The city is considered one of the main references in the Brazilian nautical sector and hosts events, boat manufacturers, and large-scale maritime operations.
Meanwhile, the growth of sea-related tourism continues to attract million-dollar investments in different regions of the country, especially in Santa Catarina.
Brazil faces a shortage of berths and the nautical market enters a new phase
According to data released by the Brazilian Nautical Association (Acobar), Brazil currently has about 1 million registered boats. Despite this, the available infrastructure is still considered insufficient to meet the growing demand of the sector.
Today, the country has approximately a thousand regular support points for boats. The number is much lower than in established markets in Europe, such as Italy and Spain, where maritime tourism has a strong economic presence.
In this scenario, the estimated deficit of 60,000 berths has opened up space for new private investments in marinas, piers, and integrated nautical service centers.
Santa Catarina holds a strategic position in this movement. The state accounts for about 65% of the national boat production, in addition to hosting some of the main nautical structures in Brazil.
At Marina Itajaí, for example, activity increased by 15% in the first three months of 2026 alone. The increase reflects not only the market’s heating up but also the change in consumer behavior, who are now seeking more complete and sophisticated operations.
According to Carlos Gayoso de Oliveira, director of Marina Itajaí, the sector is undergoing a structural transformation.
“Increasingly, marinas have to reinvent themselves to offer a complete operation that goes beyond simple docking and boat storage. Offering added services, such as maintenance, exclusive resales, and gastronomy, has been essential to meet the demands of a demanding and growing market in the country,” he stated.
The executive also highlights that the current model requires integration between different services.
“We have evolved to become a complete nautical ecosystem, where clients find everything they need in one place, without having to leave the complex,” he added.
Complex already has 405 berths and accommodates boats up to 125 feet
Currently, Marina Itajaí has 405 berths between dry and wet areas. Additionally, the technical structure has the capacity to simultaneously accommodate up to seven 80-foot boats and receive boats up to 125 feet.
The space also includes gastronomic operations, specialized services, social areas, and technical support for sailors of different nationalities.
Besides the port and nautical routine, the complex has become the stage for important sector events, including the Marina Itajaí Boat Show and regatta circuits held throughout the year.
With the construction of Boulevard Marina Itajaí, the expectation is to further expand the economic and tourist impact of the region. The development reinforces the strategy of positioning Itajaí as one of the main nautical hubs in Latin America, at a time when maritime tourism is gaining momentum in Brazil and generating increasingly larger figures.
The combination of infrastructure, tourism, leisure, and premium services also follows a trend observed in major international nautical centers, where marinas have ceased to be merely docking locations and have started to function as true hubs of experience and consumption.
As published by the portal ND Mais, the project represents one of the biggest recent bets in the Brazilian nautical sector and symbolizes an important change in the way the maritime market is being structured in the country.
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