Carla Demaria, Ucina’s President, announced the figures of the growth of the Italian yachting sector at the opening event of the Genoa Boat Show. Revenue will grow by 18.6% this year, with a 24.1% increase in production for the domestic market.
The Genoa Boat Show, with 70 more brands than the previous year, including returning brands and first-time participants, and 884 exhibitors, an 8% increase from 2016, reflects a sector that has recovered from a very long and difficult crisis, the longest that the sector has ever suffered.
However, growth can be supported or penalised. According to Demaria, in 2011, the government penalised the sector with useless and dangerous laws.
Minister Delrio stated: “Today, at the Genoa Boat Show, we are celebrating an ongoing recovery. We are working to make sure that the boating industry will soon benefit from a good Nautical Code”. Then, in his conclusions, Minister Delrio confirmed that “the Government will keep supporting the Boat Show and will finance it in the future”.
“There is now a new relationship with the government and we are working together.” Relations with the local governmental institutions, which Demaria described as “truly affectionate,” are also better. She emphasised the number of joint events that have been planned for the Boat Show in the city, over 60.
This year’s Genoa Boat Show hosted a total of 884 companies and 1,100 boats, compared to last year’s 800 exhibitors and 1,020 boats, which drew 127,190 visitors, 33,000 of whom were foreigners.
This year’s edition was dedicated to an icon of the ‘dolce vita’ years in sailing, motorboat designer and builder Carlo Riva, and saw the participation of Industry Minister Graziano Delrio, Deputy Finance Minister Luigi Casero, and Confindustria industrial employers’ federation president Vincenzo Boccia. “We’re in a positive and different moment with respect to past years, thanks also to the the market, whose recovery is solid,” said Carla Demaria.
The trade fair showcased some new arrivals, including the world premier of the MV19 Ridoc line by Baglietto. The all-aluminum MV19 yacht, from the studios of Francesco Paszkowski Design, takes its inspiration from the MAS WWI and WWII military crafts, with a 19.5-metre prototype as the natural evolution of the group’s MV13.
Azimut Yachts attended the show this year with seven yachts under 72′, including the Azimut 60 Fly, one of the company’s newest offerings.
A host of new sailboats and motorboats were also featured, such as the Pardo 43 from the Cantiere del Pardo shipyard, a luxury tender powered by two IPS 500 engines, with a large central bathroom and an outside kitchen with a table for eight.
