Running from October 6 to 14, the 52nd edition of the Genoa International Boat Show will be attended by 900 exhibitors. The event will extend over 4 pavilions, large outdoor areas as well as 2 marinas, totalling an overall surface of 200 thousand square metres.
Genoa International Boat Show
The large dock will be available for sea trials, other outdoor areas for the Italian Sailing Federation and ocean sailors, and a dedicated pool will be set up for children.
The comeback of the diving sector, the first edition of the Pleasure Boaters’ Forum.
A 10,000 sq m stage to host the fashion shows by Helly Hansen, Henry Lloyd, Northsail, Marina Yachting, Musto, Slam and Veleria San Giorgio.
The Show reaches out to the city and becomes an even more enthralling experience thanks to the very much-awaited comeback of its ‘fringe’, GenovaInBlu, which will blend together fashion and design (with important brands like Santoni and Munari), exhibitions, music performances, and “shopping by night” opportunities thanks to Enel Sole.
The Boat Show’s international scope will expand further this year, with trade missions and dedicated B2B meetings with business operators from Russia, Turkey, Brazil, the Middle East and the Far East. The EU’s Economic and Social Committee will hold a hearing for the boating industry to which Italian Commissioner Tajani has been invited.
High-profile, prestigious events will also take place at the Boat Show, starting, on the opening day, with the debate devoted to the boating industry and the Italian government, attended by Italy‘s Deputy Minister for Transport and Infrastructures Mario Ciacca. Over the following days, Mr Corrado Passera, Minister Piero Gnudi and Mr Giulio Tremonti will also be present at the Show. Architectural design firm Gae Aulenti Architetti will take part in the Nautical Design Award, while Victor Mallet from the Financial Times will once again chair the International Boating Forum.
With less than three weeks left before the opening of the 52nd International Boat Show – which will be held in Genoa from 6th to 14th October – it is now possible to provide an almost-final outline of the exhibition layout and the events that will take place during the show. July forecasts have been exceeded: 900 exhibitors are going to be present in Genoa, a figure that bears witness to the boating sector companies’ commitment and will to recover from the crisis. Many companies have indeed continued to invest in innovation, quality and technology in spite of the very difficult economic scenario and will be able to present a range of new products – from yachts to accessories all the way to technical equipment, with a special focus on cost and price optimisation.
Genoa Boat Show by night
The exhibition layout
The layout of the Boat Show – which extends over four pavilions, two marinas and large outdoor areas overlooking the sea – has evolved over the years to ensure the best possible product display arrangement and allow all visitors to enjoy the beauty of the floating part to the fullest. Visitor-friendly colour-coded itineraries will lead all visitors to the sections they are most interested in: grey will identify accessories, red sailing boats, light blue power boats, and blue mega-yachts.
The diving sector and the shopping area will be located in the first gallery of Pavilion S, together with tourism, services, and electronic equipment.
The layout of pavilion C has changed considerably: a central area will be set up this year, hosting the stands of the most important technical/nautical apparel brands and serving as a temporary show and shopping space, with product presentations, fashion shows, conferences and meetings that will follow a specific schedule and timetable, while shopping opportunities will be available for the public at all times. This new format will give exhibitors a unique chance to interact with the visitors in a very innovative and dynamic way over an area of more than 10,000 square metres that will host brands like Helly Hansen, Henry Lloyd, Northsail, Marina Yachting, Musto, Slam and Veleria San Giorgio.
Pavilion C will also be the brand-new location of the Sea Theatre, where interesting events will be held, alternating with those of the temporary show & shopping space. One of the most awaited initiatives will be the presentation of the finalists of the third Nautical Design Award, created by magazine Yacht & Sail and organised in partnership with ADI (the Italian Designers Association) to reward the companies that best represent Italian excellence in the boating sector.
The Jury, chaired by ADI’s President Luisa Bocchietto, will award a plate to the finalists, who will then be entitled to display it in their stands during the nine days of the Boat Show. The official awarding ceremony will then be held on 9th November in Milan. Starting on that day, the models of the winners’ products will be on display in Via Manzoni, in Milan.
Pavilion C will still be hosting B2B meetings; to its more-than-aware public and to professional operators Genoa International Boat Show will once again offer TechTrade, the section devoted to components and accessories for pleasure boating. Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th will be the b2b preferential days.
This year all inflatable boats will benefit from a more rational layout and will all be on display inside Pavilion B and Pavilion S (package models).
The product display arrangement has been optimised further by moving all sailing boats to the Marina 1, a central location that will ensure more visibility to a sector boasting a large number of enthusiasts of regattas and sporting endeavours.
Over the last three months the Boat Show’s organisers have worked intensively and done their very best to understand and meet all the needs and requirements of sailing boat exhibitors and to find a better location for sailing crafts, capable of enhancing their value to the fullest.
As a result of the important efforts made, besides the companies that had immediately confirmed their attendance (among others, Jeanneau, Beneteau, Baltic, Vismara, Chantier Amel), over the last few weeks other important exhibitors have decided to take part in the Boat Show, including Cantieri Del Pardo, Dufour, Bavaria, X-Yachts, Hanse Group and Dheler-Moody. Product range completeness will be ensured by the presence of sailmakers and companies producing sailing equipment and accessories, which will be hosted in pavilion D – reopened specifically to ensure product continuity with the crafts on display in the water.
The Progetto giovani – Navigar m’è dolce project
UCINA Confindustria Nautica has promoted the Navigar m’è dolce campaign all over Italy for eight years, with the aim of spreading the boating culture and love for the sea among school pupils. This year, thanks to a partnership with the Italian Sailing Federation and a “joint venture” with Fondazione Carige’s Progetto Giovani, in cooperation with the sports association Movimento sportivo popolare ligure, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), the various sea sports federation, Lega Navale, the Coast Guard, the Italian Rescue Association (Società di Salvamento), Atlantic Challenge, Acquario di Genova, and the Liguria Region’s School Department, children and teenagers will be offered a chance to learn more about and experience the sea in many different ways: besides sailing, the younger ones will indeed have the opportunity to try out rowing and other sea sports in the Water Stadium and to attend lessons on biology and safety sea.
The Water Stadium will host the entire fleet that took part in the 2nd edition of the project “L’Italia in Barca a Vela: il Mare che Unisce” (Italy on a sailing boat: the sea that unites), promoted by the Italian Ministry for University and Research in cooperation withthe Italian Sailing Federation, Lega Navale Italiana, and the Italian Harbour Offices – Coast Guard.
During the Boat Show, the lessons held as part of this important project will continue outdoor for upper secondary school pupils, while primary and lower secondary school pupils will be able to take part in the activities of the “Vela Scuola” project, another important initiative promoted jointly by the Italian Ministry for University and Research and FIV, the Italian Sailing Federation.
All these new initiatives will join other previously-announced ones, like the setting up of the Weymouth Olympic and Paralympic Village, allowing all enthusiasts to admire the sailing boats used during this year’s London Olympic Games, as well as to discover the Olympic classes that will take part in Rio 2016 Games, including the new kite boarding class; the opportunity for all FIV members to take advantage of a special ticket valid throughout the nine days of the Show; sea trials on Formula Junior and Formula Future inflatables; and jet-ski and radio-controlled power boating performances, with the last Italian Championship competition to be held on Sunday 7th October.
An increasingly international Boat Show
This year too, like over the last 15 editions of the Boat Show, activities devoted to foreign operators will be organised within the framework of the export support and promotion agreement among UCINA (the Italian Marine Industry Association), the Italian Ministry for Economic Development, ICE (the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade), and Liguria International, with trade missions from several countries, including Russia, Turkey, Brazil, the Middle East and the Far East – the main new prospective markets for the pleasure boating industry.
Activities promoting the Italian boating industry and Genoa Boat Show at an international level are also constantly ongoing: under the aegis of Liguria International – the Liguria regional company for the internationalisation of businesses with whom Fiera di Genova recently signed a cooperation agreement -, after the event held in Moscow on 17th July, the Boat Show was presented in Dubai at Dubai World Trade Center on 10th September, the final objective being increasing the number of qualified foreign operators visiting the show. A Chinese delegation will visit the Boat Show on the first weekend – a mission organised by Fiera di Genova in cooperation with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
Conferences, meetings, and other events
This year too the Boat Show will include a rich calendar of conferences and side events. The conferences, organised by UCINA Confindustria Nautica and gathered under the title fUCINA (i.e. Forum UCINA), will revolve around important subjects and will aim to provide an overview of the Italian boating industry and to offer some food for thought on the most topical issues in this sector. Various institutions, politicians, professional operators and opinion leaders will be invited to take part in a debate on the relations between the pleasure boating industry and the world of politics, economics, and communication.
The first conference, La Nautica e il Governo (The Boating Industry and the Government) will be held on Saturday 6th October, after the Boat Show official opening ceremony.
International conferences will start on Sunday 7th October, with the second edition of the International Boating Forum, an international round table chaired by Financial Times journalist Victor Mallet and involving the leading European associations member of EBI (European Boating Industry).
On Tuesday 9th October, hearing of the Italian boating industry by the EESC – European Economic and Social Committee, a consultative body of the European Union providing the main EU institutions with qualified advice on various matters. Organised by UCINA and EBI (European Boating Industry), the hearing will be the subject of a report that the EESC will submit in Brussels regarding the current crisis affecting the European boating sector, which currently includes 37,000 companies and 234,000 directly employed people. The conference will be chaired by Nick Hopkinson, from magazine IBI. Other meetings and workshops will be organised, targeted at Italian and foreign professionals and aimed at illustrating the new provisions and regulations recently introduced into the Italian legislation.
The Boat Show’s institutional conference scheduled for Monday 8th October will be devoted to the economy: the debate La Nautica e l’Economia (The Boating Industry and the Economy), with a keynote speech by Prof. Giulio Tremonti, will aim to give an insight of today’s Italian economic scenario and to compare it with the global one, starting from the experience of several leading economists and analysing the potential of the Green Economy. At the end of the conference, the President of the Italian province winner of the Nautical Quality Index (developed by Osservatorio Nautico Nazionale) will receive the 2012 “Territori di mare” award.
On Wednesday 10th October, the boating sector will meet the world of communication: the conference La Nautica e i Media (The Boating Sector and the Media) will indeed focus on the relations between communication, the media, and new social networks in order to understand how the boating industry is being promoted and is perceived by the public opinion.
The results of market analyses will be shared with the public during the presentation of La Nautica in cifre. Analisi del mercato per l’anno 2011 (The Boating Sector in figures. Market analysis for the year 2011”2011), published by UCINA’s Surveys Department in cooperation with the Department of Economics and Quantitative Methods of the University of Genoa.
The last conference is scheduled for Friday 12th October: Nautica e Fisco (The Boating Industry and Taxation) will be a workshop organised by the Liguria Association of Tax Court Magistrates and will tackle a series of taxation-related issues including the Italian spesometro (an expense-reporting system recently introduced by the Government) and the application of the IMU property tax in ports.
The management of coastal and state-owned areas will be the leading theme of the meeting with the Italian Minister for Relations with the regions, Piero Gnudi, and sector professionals, to be held on Saturday 13th October.
Great attention will be devoted this year to pleasure boaters and the issues they have to tackle: on Sunday 7th October, in the afternoon, the first Forum del Diportista (Pleasure Boaters’ Forum) will open a debate among sea enthusiasts at the Sea Theatre. This initiative was launched during the summer with the creation of the website, a “community of pleasure boaters” set up to share knowledge and experience related to boating, allow yachtspeople to have a say on a range of matters, and serve as a tool to report any relevant information and news. The contributions of website users will be shared and disussed during the Boat Show, where forum participants will also have the opportunity to meet and evaluate the Community’s activities so far.
The bank group Monte dei Paschi di Siena is once more offering its financial product created to help UCINA members take part in the Boat Show.
The Mezzanine Room of Pavilion B will host Start to Business, the event devoted to innovation and aimed at offering boating sector companies a chance to meet businesses operating in the hi-tech industry. This business-matching event, organised in cooperation with CDI Manager and Consorzio Quinn, will consist of two phases: during the first, hi-tech companies will present new technologies and innovative solutions that have never applied in the boating industry so far; then, one-to-one meetings will be held with the various participating boatyards.
Services
Visitors will again have available helicopter transfers offered by Novaris, while the Boat Show’s guests will be able to use a “private pier”.
For the first time, exhibitors will be granted a “Gold Card” for their best clients, allowing to take advantage – upon reservation – of a series of dedicated services, including reserved parking spots and the access to the Gold Card Lounge, located on the mezzanine floor of the Blu Pavilion.
Catering services too will benefit from an important ‘new entry’, with the Genova-Nervi restaurant “The Cook” – featuring Michelin-star cook Ivan Ricchebono – opening this year in Pavilion C Club.
Opening hours and tickets
The Show will be open every day from 10 am to 6.30 pm. On Saturday 6th October the Show will be open until 10.30 pm and will feature a special entertainment programme for the public.
The ticket will cost € 15.00, concessions € 13.00. For the first time, this year all children born from 1st January 1998 onwards, if accompanied by an adult, will be able to visit the Show for free throughout the nine days of the event.
A welcoming service developed in cooperation with Terre di Mare will be in place for visitors with disabilities: four-wheeled electrical scooters and wheelchairs will be available. Boat Show visitors can also take advantage of interesting tourist packages and special fares on Alitalia domestic flights and Skyteam international flights.
