Event
Coming through
In 2020 a group of brave organisers were determined that it would be business as usual in one of the industry’s most difficult years to date. Today, the Genoa International Boat Show is reaping the rewards
In the top tier of international boat shows, one show in particular is thriving and growing steadily in terms of its reach, scope and influence. The Genoa International Boat Show, staged every September right in the heart of the ancient maritime city, is effectively five different shows in one, it boasts more than 200,000 square metres of exhibition space in total and showcases about a thousand different brands, with large separate areas devoted specifically to sailing boats, superyachts, motorboats, next-generation marine technology and nautical tourism (which includes sailing schools, clubs and class associations). There’s plenty of interest on offer for any sort of boating enthusiast, with a grand total of a thousand boats on display in 2022, a number that will increase next year thanks to the creation of 200 new berths to satisfy a growing demand that saw exhibitor spaces sold out for the 2022 edition as early as June. The only European boat show that managed to avoid being cancelled in 2020, thanks to its organisers’ ability to put on a Covid-safe event, Genoa always sells out of exhibitor space months in advance of its gates opening to the public. Last year it also came quite close to
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selling out of visitor tickets and reaching its maximum threshold of 115,000 people, with almost 104,000 attendees – up about 11 per cent on 2021. ‘We were delighted with the 2022
edition of the Genoa International Boat Show, both in terms of attendance and in terms of the quality of the clients who came to visit our boats,’ says Veronica Bottasini fromthe Cantiere del Pardo shipyard. ‘This year we changed location,moving to themost central section, which allowed us to bring together our three brands, Grand Soleil, Pardo Yachts and Van Dutch, all around a single stand. It was a dreamcome true and we were thrilled with the location, especially in view of theWaterfront project that we will finally see come to fruition next year.’ These days the Genoa Boat Show
is a lot more than a showcase for the ‘Made In Italy’ brand, although it does that very effectively indeed with almost every Italian boatbuilder, shipyard and equipment manufacturer represented and the show itself run directly by the Italian Marine Industry Association – essentially by the exhibitors themselves. If you’re a fan of the quintessentially Italian style of sleek, high-performance monohull sailing
Above: with the high concrete wall that used to bisect the marina now demolished, Genoa Boat Show has a much more open feel and the flow of visitors strolling around the pontoons has been greatly improved
yachts then this is most definitely the show for you. But Genoa now also draws a
large proportion of themajor sailing, yachting and boating brands –multihulls included – fromall across Europe and beyond. Indeed it has become one of the key shows where large numbers of newmodels make their début. Last year alone, for example, exhibitors came from35 countries and 168 new boats were launched at Genoa. As a result the show attracts a lot ofmedia attention with last year’s tally including 11 hours of TV coverage, 42 hours of live streaming and a socialmedia reach ofmore than amillion people. Genoa is also heavily invested in
promoting sustainable innovation and its pioneers, dedicating exhibition space and events each year to promote start-ups selected from the Italian Start-up initiative, thanks to the organisers’ partnership with the Italian Trade Agency. The show also holds the Design Innovation Award, a ceremony that awards the most innovative designs among those showcased by the show’s exhibitors, selected by an independent jury made up of national and international experts, to highlight designers’ and manufacturers'
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