New framework and features announced for Genoa International Boat Show
A press conference was held yesterday (4 September) to outline new features and give an update on exhibitors ahead of the 64th Genoa International Boat Show, taking place 19 to 24 September.
This year, the Genoa International Boat Show will feature the iconic indoor sports arena, known as Genoa’s Palasport, a symbolic building now back in shape and at the heart of the show. There will be 1,052 brands and 1,030 boats on display – with more potentially still to be added.
In total, the 2024 show will comprise 220 thousand sq m of exhibition space over land and water, with 85 per cent of the show held outdoors – 5,000 sq m more than in 2023.
The number of foreign exhibitors is also on the rise: in the production segment alone the number of foreign exhibitors has risen by 23. There will also be more than 100 new products on show with 30 premieres. Online ticket sales have also seen an increase of 16 per cent compared to 2023.
After the opening speech by the president of The Italian Marine Industry Association Confindustria Nautica, Saverio Cecchi, who announced the conclusion of the implementation procedures regarding regulations in Italy’s Recreational Boating Code and the adoption of the final decree aimed at making the new simplified professional title for yacht chartering operational, president of I Saloni Nautici, Andrea Razeto, took the floor to outline the framework of the boat show for 2024.
“The 64th edition of the Genoa International Boat Show promises to be a moment of affirmation and consolidation. The international macroeconomic scenario, which offers a double reading between political-military tensions and announced interest rate cuts, for the moment seems not to have affected the positive trend that has characterised the sector for some years now,” Razeto says. “Even without that post-covid drive, the growth numbers remain in double figures, suggesting that the wave of new entries into the yachting world has not been – for the most part – a transient or fleeting phenomenon. The audience for those who, for various reasons, have approached this world has unquestionably broadened, the average age of boat users has fallen, and the spending power of some of these new customers is proving to be substantial.”
Marina Stella, general manager of the Italian Marine Industry Association, says: “The prestige of the Genoa Boat Show’s Forum24 events programme is attested by the European Commission’s patronage, confirming the breadth and importance of the activities that the Italian Marine Industry Association carries out on a European level as well”.
On Thursday 19 September, the 64th edition of Genoa the International Boat Show will kick off with the conference POLITICHE DEL MARE: Le nuove rotte per la competitività dell’Italia, le prospettive dell’industria nautica (Sea Policy: charting new courses for Italy’s competitiveness, an outlook for the yachting industry) – a debate designed to outline the sector’s future strategies.
The Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Infrastructures, Matteo Salvini, the Minister for Business and Made in Italy production, Adolfo Urso, and the Minister for Sea Policies, Nello Musumeci, will all be in attendance.
Other key events at the Genoa International Boat Show include the Boating Economic Forecast with the presentation of the latest update of market data by the Italian Marine Industry Association’s Market Intelligence and Research department in partnership with the Edison Foundation; Nautica, Fisco e Dogane (Yachting, Tax and Customs); an event organised by the Leonardo Foundation and the Ansaldo Foundation for Marconi’s 150th anniversary; the National Conference on Nautical Tourism; the European Boating Round Table, organised in cooperation with EBI, the European Boating Federation, which will see representatives from the European Commission, European Parliament members, and entrepreneurs from the yachting sector debate sustainability with a focus on nautical tourism.
The Genoa International Boat Show and the Italian Marine Industry Association’s commitment to a sustainable future will also be promoted through the third edition of the Shaping The Future – World Yachting Sustainability forum, organised by the Italian Marine Industry Association in cooperation with IBI. This year the focus will be on life cycle assessment, an in-depth analysis of applications, economic benefits, and its impact on innovation.
“The bond between sustainability and innovation, now inseparable, is the lynchpin in a constantly evolving sector like the yachting industry,” concluded Stella. “The Design Innovation Award, established by the Italian Marine Industry Association and the Genoa International Boat Show, was created precisely with the aim of highlighting excellence in nautical design and rewarding products that represent the best in technological and stylistic innovation. The fifth edition, which sees the return of Maria Porro, president of Milan’s Design and Furniture Show, the Salone del Mobile, as president of the jury, will reward projects that stand out for cutting-edge technological solutions, innovative design and sustainable materials, helping to shape the future of yachting.”
“The leadership of ‘Made in Italy’ yachting in the world has remained consolidated for over 20 years,” adds Razeto. “In 2023, the global production leadership of Italian superyachts registered +21 per cent compared to the previous year, representing 51 per cent of global orders: one boat out of every two in the world’s seas is made in Italy.
“In this framework, the Genoa International Boat Show is the instrument that has always supported and amplified the sector’s drive towards internationalisation, making our values known abroad. With this goal in mind, the programme carried out together with the Italian Trade Agency – for which I would like to thank president Matteo Zoppas – has seen the organisation of collectives featuring Italian companies and the presentation of the 64th edition of the Boat Show worldwide in Düsseldorf, Miami, Dubai, New York for the NY Design Week, Southampton, and Hamburg. As part of the implementation of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation’s Made in Italy promotion plan, an international business and press tour will bring to the Genoa Boat Show the most important operators in the sector along with key members of the sector’s foreign press, who this year will be coming from over 30 different countries from all five continents.”
While sustainability represents a major challenge for the yachting industry and for the boat show itself, it also offers great opportunity for development. Maurizio Grosso, the boat show’s technical and sustainability director has emphasised how “in following this path, the Italian Marine Industry Association and I Saloni Nautici have adopted the Sustainability Honor Code in 2020, which was shared with exhibitors and all those involved in the process of organising and setting up Genoa Boat Show, a standard that has become an international benchmark for our industry. In this 64th edition, we wanted to design an event increasingly adhering to sustainability standards, setting ourselves the goal of achieving ISO20121 Certification for the organisation of sustainable events.”
Closing the press conference, Alessandro Modestino, founder and CEO of Meloria Comunicazione presented the new logo and the ADV campaign of the 64th Genoa International Boat Show. The show’s new logo is inspired by the shape of a prow breaking through the waves and advancing towards new horizons.
For the fourth consecutive year, Mercedes is the official car of the boat show, while Eberhard & Co. is confirmed as the official timepiece along with Helly Hansen, the event’s official clothing partner. BPER Banca will be the show’s welcome partner. Sara Assicurazioni, Genuina Pet Food, Kartell, Waterfront di Levante, and Amiu, the Boat Show’s environmental partner, will also be present.
