News

The Boat Show towards full house

09/09/2021

Italian shipyards and companies have confirmed orders for the next 2-3 years. This was underlined by Marina Stella, general manager of Confindustria nautica, demonstrating the growth that the sector is experiencing in times of pandemic, while preparing the preparation of the 61st Genoa Boat Show, which will be held between 16 and 21 September next , with spaces already sold out from June for exhibitors. And if the association, through the company The Boat Shows, is in full organizational activity, also the city of Genoa, starting from the institutions to get to the hoteliers, is already taking steps to facilitate the reception of visitors who will arrive in September. All obviously in line with the current anticovid regulations, as happened last year, with the 60th edition, held regularly and safely, and the only sector event in attendance to have taken place in Europe in 2020. For this' year there is a green pass for access to trade fairs and ticket sales are online on salonenautico.com, where you can also book additional services, such as parking.

A factor linked to the pandemic is at the center of the first intervention relating to the Nautical 2021. In the blue pavilion of the former Fiera del Mare, the one designed by Jean Nouvel, the largest vaccination hub in Liguria had been set up. To make room for the show, as planned, the hub was moved in early August: split into two separate centers created ad hoc. The Nautico, moreover, will be one of the promotional events of the TravelSafety campaign of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with Ice Agenzia, as well as the vaccination campaign of the Liguria Region. As usual, the Nouvel pavilion will host pneumatic boats and outboard motors on the ground floor and, on the upper floor, the stands for components and accessories.

In the city, meanwhile, hoteliers are already absorbing bookings from exhibitors. "We expect - says Gianluca Faziola, at the helm of Federalberghi Genova - a very high level show, we hope for an edition with a bang. The participation of exhibitors is important and reservations, for us, are already positive, even if in line with the historical moment of the pandemic. The overwhelming majority of exhibitors have already moved with hotel bookings while we expect those of visitors to arrive above all in the 10 days preceding the event. It's normal, especially at a time like this. " Laura Gazzolo, hotelier and regional tourism coordinator of Confindustria Liguria confirms the trend: «As regards the 4-star hotels upwards, sellers, dealers and dealers who will exhibit at the show are already organizing reservations. Although it must be said that in recent years, and even more so with the Covid emergency, hotel attendances for the show are increasingly reaching the last "

Meanwhile, the Municipality, the Chamber of Commerce and trade associations are starting the preparation of the events outside the fair. Among these, there is an exhibition on the tapestries of transatlantic liners, in the building of the former stock exchange in Genoa; and the possibility, for those who buy a Nautico ticket, to have a city pass for visits to exhibitions, museums, the aquarium and the Doge's Palace (which from 9 September will host an anthology dedicated to the Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher) . In terms of synergies between the fair and the city, the area where the exhibition takes place is at the center of a process of transformation that affects both the layout of the 61st edition and the area of the former Fair in general. In fact, the construction works for the rearrangement of the Levante waterfront are underway and will finish by 2023 according to the project outlined by the architect Renzo Piano; a plan that, among other things, will ensure the area 200 more berths. The work in progress will also allow the 2021 exhibition to have a completely different layout, thanks to the demolition of the promenade wall that divided two quays (the C and the E), which allowed the creation of a single-storey one, without interruption between the blue pavilion and the so-called new dock. The surface available on land, therefore, will grow by 14% and that in the water by 19%, thanks to the use of new mobile piers, the Waterfront marina, infrastructured by Amico & Co for yachts up to 100 meters, and the completion of the dock moorings for boats up to 15 meters.

«The construction works still in progress in the exhibition area - says Marina Stella - will be finished within the next few days. From 23 August we will begin the stage of the preparations. The focal point of the new layout is the mobile jetty that will connect quay A to H (i.e. the waterfront marina, ed), which cuts across the entire area of the event railway station. This will be the main line of visit of the Nautico already this year. Then there is the theme of sea trials, which can be held throughout the entire exhibition day; also because 85% of the boats in our show are in the water ". And the organizers count that more than a thousand units will be on show in Genoa (including, however, the projects presented there) and almost a thousand brands. «The sold out of this show - continues the Star - reflects a growing and effervescent market: it is also the result of a 2020 show that has brought a great result in terms of authority and credibility. Last year's Nautical gave companies the opportunity not to lose the orders they had acquired and also to reconstitute an orderbook at least for 2021; then the companies have been good on their own to reconstitute it also for 2022. And today we know that all shipyards have a portfolio full of confirmed orders, on average for two years: 2021 and 2022, some also for 2023 ». This, concludes Stella, "has contributed to making the confidence index of companies positive; 70%, in fact, estimate double-digit growth for 2021. The only thing to say, as a reflection, is that the unknowns that arise for each manufacturing sector remain; that is, the availability of raw materials, the rising costs of shipping for the transport of products and then the question mark on how the various countries will deal with the resurgence of the pandemic and how the vaccination campaigns will go. These scenarios could also slow down a little growth, which however is considered solid by companies ".