On the occasion of the 54th Genoa International Boat Show, the Italian Trade Agency, in partnership with UCINA Confindustria Nautica, hosted a delegation of 108 foreign operators, comprising dealers as well as journalists. The event came to its end on October 6, 2014.
Genoa Boat Show 2014 Day 1
40 foreign dealers and 68 trade journalists, for a total of 108 operators from 30 countries. 500 meetings scheduled with around 50 participating exhibitors and 960 press-matches. These impressive figures give a sense of the commitment of the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) to supporting the internationalization of the 54th Genoa Boat Show.
The traders and journalists involved come from as many as 30 different countries: China, Hong Kong, India, Brazil, Russia, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, Switzerland, Argentina. The most represented in terms of participants were the USA, Germany, India, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Russia, Spain and China (including Hong Kong).
“The participation of such a large and mixed foreign delegation”, said Roberto Luongo, General Manager of the Italian Trade Agency,” has allowed many business meetings and trade press conferences to take place, thus expanding the opportunities of Italian exhibiting companies and, more generally, contributing to strengthening the Boat Show’s international image and positioning, for the benefit of our entire boating industry and its exports.”
“One of the strengths of this year’s edition”, said Marina Stella, General Manager of UCINA, “was the fact of giving the Boat Show a more international flavour. The essential support of the Italian Trade Agency has allowed us to provide a service targeted especially at those exhibitors, which, alone, would be unable to sustain the investments required to have a presence abroad. Furthermore, it has enabled us to embark on a new and more complex positioning project, both for the Show itself and for the excellence it showcases, starting with the entire Italian boating sector, thus providing significant visibility abroad. We intend to capitalise on and pursue this activity in the coming months, even more so now that the curtains have closed on the 54th Boat Show. Naturally, we will work hard to improve the Show’s organisation based on feedback received from exhibitors. ”
The initiative involved twenty five foreign ICE offices, which, also on the basis of indications from UCINA, supervised the selection of and liaised with the foreign dealers and journalists, as well organising the transfers. The Italian Trade Agency and UCINA also organised and supported a series of welcome activities, including the setting up of a special lounge for guests, as well as assistance and coordination, networking events and a series of ‘dealer meetings’ on the sidelines of the Boat Show, with the aim of facilitating the encounter between exhibiting SMEs and foreign dealers. These meetings took place in truly prestigious locations, such as the Rolli Palazzos.
The retailers participating in the delegations took part in approximately 500 bilateral meetings organised by the Italian Trade Agency based on their company profiles and on the events of interest expressed by about 50 Italian exhibitors who joined the initiative.
It is worth mentioning the high quality of the trade journalists selected, who met with the exhibitors and paid special attention to those who had expressed particular interest in the event. This poses as a valuable showcase, especially for smaller companies, to raise awareness of the company abroad and, at the same time, as an important vehicle for promoting the image of the Boat Show.
The entire operation was supported by an advertising campaign on financial, trade and non-trade publications, mainly abroad, in the countries of greatest interest.
