Mataro

Mataró is the capital and largest town of the comarca of the Maresme, in the province of Barcelona, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, 30 kilometres (19 miles) north-east of Barcelona.

Mataró comprises 11 neighbourhoods, 4 beaches, a port, which is predominantly a leisure port, with a small boat repair yard. Mataró, the largest seaside city between Barcelona and France, has made a strategic effort to position itself as a nautical and maritime capital, and is aiming to become, in partnership with Barcelona and Maresme, the model maritime business cluster in the Mediterranean. The Port of Mataró is closely located to Barcelona Port, the 9th largest container port in Europe, and strategically located to the north of Barcelona as an integral part of Barcelona’s sea cluster.

Mataró Port and the recently created Maresme Marítim Association are the key elements for consolidating a business cluster in the region to promote economic activities linked to the sea. This area comprises a Marina (1000 moorings); a Boat yard – largely focussing on repairs to leisure craft; a Superyacht marina; Commercial space (with circa 80 shops); and Tourism – including a hotel and bars. The Port of Mataró employs some 25 people, but 500 people work within it. The increasingly aging population means the port is struggling to recruit suitable employees, particularly skilled ones. In addition, the Port foresees opportunities to expand and diversify, with opportunities including waste disposal, wave energy, smart port and changing business models for sailing.

For four years now, public entities, ports, universities and companies in the Maresme have chosen to work together and decided to take advantage of the many opportunities that the coast offers in the region. Since then, Mataró Municipality have been active in different projects related to the marine and nautical field. In this way, it has contributed to the business and tourism development, the incorporation of new technologies in ports, the promotion of applied research to nautical, as well as the training of professionals in the sector, in order to Train them to face new emerging job opportunities, both with specific courses and with new university degrees related to the sea.