The Boat Show will be “the first in the world”, Genoa the “Hollywood of the sea”

On 21 September, the Genoa International Boat Show will celebrate its 63rd anniversary in the new spaces of the blue island of the Levante Waterfront, the district that is being built from scratch in the Ligurian capital, based on the vision of Renzo Piano and “aims to become the first in the world”. Said the president of Confindustria Nautica and of I Saloni Nautici Saverio Cecchi at the presentation of the event scheduled from 21 to 26 September at the Genoa Fair.

Over a thousand boats on display from 2 to 40 metres, 1,043 brands on display (+4.5% compared to the previous year), 143 more berths available in the new Waterfront canals, 184 new products on display (+9 .5%). “Italy holds the scepter of the nautical world, we are the first, nobody takes this away from us – said Cecchi -, we are the first in superyachts, in pneumatic units over ten metres, in accessories, in components, now we want become the first and take the scepter also in sector events and in 2024 we will get there”. And again: “In 1967 there was a turning point: the first national trade association was born, Ucina now Confindustria Nautica, which took over the organization of the show, so we were the first, Dusseldorf was born in 1969, Cannes in 1977 , in 1979 Montecarlo, but we are the original, we were the first, the others are photocopies, and the original is always the first”. Cecchi then concluded his speech with a suggestion, calling his Salone “il Superbo”.

The moment

Things for boating are going well, in the world. And made in Italy flies. The new numbers will be revealed at the Salone, but it can already be said that the production value of the sector in Italy will exceed the records already achieved (over 7 billion euros). Euphoria, satisfaction, work that come after a period, that of Covid, which seemed to bury everything and instead relaunched boating, a happy island. Purchases and buyers have increased, the age of owners has decreased, shipyards have developed new ideas and new models.

And Genoa and its Salone, which held out in the most difficult moments, is now rejoicing. Cecchi’s optimism is understandable, as is that of Mayor Marco Bucci. “We want to do more and more, we want to ensure that our show, the first in the Mediterranean, is recognized as the first boat show in the world. We are getting there – he added – we want to have the most important boat show in the world because boating is the business that grows the most in Italy, the supply chain that has the most growth in Italy”. The Ligurian governor Giovanni does not hold back Toti, who invents an effective slogan: “The 2023 edition of the Genoa Boat Show will be full of news and innovations for the nautical world, a sector of fundamental importance for our Region: from large yachts to small boats, from production to refitting passing through the most famous shipyards in Italy, Liguria is increasingly playing a leading role in this area. Genoa is the new ‘Hollywood of the sea’, no longer the nightmare inherited a few years ago. of pleasure boating, which can count on an increasingly capillary network of ports, making an important contribution to the growth of our tourism”.