Yesterday, October 1, 2014, in the fantastic Italy yacht charter destination – Genoa, was marked by the official opening of this year’s 54th edition of the Genoa International Boat Show. The opening ceremony was attended by the highest institutional authorities.
The opening ceremony of the Genoa Boat Show 2014
The highest institutional authorities attended the opening ceremony of the Genoa Boat Show 2014: Maurizio Lupi, Secretary of Infrastructure and Transports, Claudio Burlando, President of Regione Liguria, and Marco Doria, Major of Genoa. Massimo Perotti, President of UCINA, Anton Francesco Albertoni, President of Saloni Nautici Spa, and Sara Armella, President of Fiera di Genova Spa, gave the inaugural speech. Carlo Calenda, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, and Riccardo Maria Monti, President of ITA(ex ICE), were also present at the ceremony. With its new setup, the Boat Show proves itself to be dynamic and watchful for possible trade transformations. Many professionals of the field, precisely 760 brands for a total exposition of over 1.000 boats (among them, 100 new entries), have openly displayed their eager praise.
Government representatives are firmly sustaining the sector with statements of support: “The sea is one of the foundations of our history. The boat industry needs to reassert its leading position”.
The opening ceremony of the Genoa Boat Show 2014
A large crowd, the typical of special occasions, was impatiently waiting for the opening ceremony of the 54th edition of the Genoa International Boat Show. In fact, the highest Government authorities related to the maritime sector were expected to attend the ceremony, and they participated with important contributions and statements: “Our presence here”- Minister Maurizio Lupi said-“proves how the Government intends to support, with facts rather than words, a sector that is experiencing a major crisis but at the same time aims at rising again and move forward. We must start again to consider the sea, one of the foundations of our history, as an opportunity instead of a problem: boat owners should not be seen only as evaders. On the contrary, we must think about them with pride. This philosophy has been already applied by other countries near Italy, and we should not be second to anyone. In the past, politics has been acting wrongly in this respect, but it is now deployed to support the sector.”
Another contribution that represented a high incentive was the one by Claudio Burlando, President of Regione Liguria: “In the past, the maritime sector was travelling in full sail, while now it is experiencing a deep crisis. It is just a phase, it can happen. It is of major importance that the Boat Show is still here, boasting of the strong support of the professionals, it is a symbol of endurance, resistance, and continuity. The destiny of the sector, like the destiny of Italy, is not inescapable. A hard work is necessary for the recovery.”
The opening ceremony of the Genoa Boat Show 2014
In line with the statement of Minister Lupi, the speech given by Massimo Perotti, President of UCINA: “We expect politics to keep on helping this industrial sector essential for the Made in Italy: we need the new nautical code together with its new application regulations, and we need the confirmation for the reduction of the IVA (TVA) for Marina Resorts to the 10%. As for banks, we ask for a renewed trust in the implementation of the nautical leasing, which has always revealed itself as a powerful driving force for the trade”.
The same perspective has been adopted by Anton Francesco Albertoni, President of I Saloni Nautici: “We must thank the 760 companies that participate at the 54th Boat Show, it is a proof of strength and of ‘resistance’, a word that should accompany us also in the future. The nautical sector, of which the exhibition is the showcase ‘par excellence’, together with other sectors such as interior design, design, and food, represent the excellence of the Made in Italy and might be an extraordinary engine for the recovery.”
“The 2014 Boat Show – as finally highlighted Sara Armella, President of Fiera di Genova – represents a determining change. This year the coordination appertains to UCINA, in order to answer to the necessities of the exhibitors, with minor costs, more efficient services, a rediscovered international visibility, and a recovered attention for the politics that concerns the sector.
Anticipating many of the decisions included in the Government agenda with the Cottarelli plan, since last October until today Fiera di Genova SpA has focused on a deep work of reconstruction, sometimes not painless, redefining its spaces in line with the economic scenario. Strategic spaces for the city, that represent, today, the main focus of a project of enhancement to which we offer all the necessary cooperation, even if still demanding that, within the lapse of time that separates us from the final realisation, there will be space enough to continue the planned activities and the action for the relaunch of Fiera”.
