Starting again with the Genoa Boat Show

Milan - Fingers crossed and moving cautiously, despite the superficial optimism of the organizers. That was more or less the message that shone through the presentation for the next Boat Show.

It is the 54th edition of the trade fair, which will take place at the Fiera di Genova on Tuesday, October 1st, and will continue until the following Monday. For the first time in the history of the fair, the large yachts from Azimut/Benetti will be missing, but lots of space will be given over to sailing, which has registered a +22% increase in the number of sailing boats exhibited.

Less prestigious boats, but lots of space for accessories and the small national companies in the sector. Because one of the problems the fair is facing is the crisis in the Italian yachting sector and the resulting lack of interest among the major brands in exhibiting in Genoa.

“At the national level in Italy we are suffering very much,” explained Massimo Perotti, UCINA’s president, “because the yachting sector is a reflection of our country. Even so, in the last few weeks we have had some timid signs of a recovery.”

Since 2008, revenues in the Italian yachting sector dropped from €6.2bn to €2.4bn, a 65% decrease. The internal market made up 47% of the those €6.2bn, and now it makes up only 7-8% of the €2.4bn.

This year the exhibition will be extended one day longer than last year’s event. And for the first time, the show is being organized by “I Saloni Nautici,” the company owned by UCINA in which the Fiera di Genova is also supposed to buy a stake.

The entire show covers an area of 180,000 sqm, of which 100,000 are water-based. According to the organizers, who have once again chosen Milan as the city in which to present the Ligurian fair, about 760 exhibitors in total will come to Genoa with thousands of boats and one hundred new products.

This is essentially in line with the trend last season in the inboard motor boat sector, while the outboard boats that are being exhibited this year in the water increased by +50%. “First of all we are betting on Italianness,” Perotti pointed out, “and on the value of the Made in Italy brand. Italian boats are the proof of our excellence in the world. And it is precisely on this point that we can depend when it comes to attracting operators and foreign visitors.”

With the lack of many mega-yachts, lots of emphasis will be placed on the sailing boat market, in which there is a new player, “Sailing World,” which will take over much of the internal wharf to exhibit up to 120 boats in the water and over 6,000 sqm of floor space, along the docks and within the marquee.

Besides the ship builders and the sailing accessories, the charter operators will also be at the fair, both sport sailing operators and yachting tourism companies. There will also be plenty of space for rubber dinghies and boats of up to 12m in length, hosted on the ground floor of Pavilion B while the larger-dimensioned units will be exhibited along the quay that overlooks the wharf.

The New Marina 1 will be given over to motor boats, but the boats will be exhibited along the docks and the floating docks and will be available for test voyages at sea. The “Power Village” will host the entire sector of producers of equipment and large engines, while exhibitors from the yachting accessories sector will be located on the upper level of Pavilion B.

Pavilion D will host the producers of high-tech apparel and the stands for nautical shopping. The price of a ticket is the same as last year, and starts at €15 for the full price, with reduced price tickets for €13, while children born after 1999 accompanied by their parents will get in free. This year’s event will be the last Boat Show held in the fall.

The MediTelegraph broke the story that from May 2015, the fair will start being held in the month of May. It is a brave (and risky) decision that the president of UCINA has made to find a solution to the problem of being overshadowed by the Yachting Show in Cannes.