| Italy. Genoa 46th International Boat Show hosts 1,650 exhibitors with 2,330 boats on display |
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| Monday, 11 September 2006 | |
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Boat show news: Genoa 46th International Boat Show, to be held next 7 through 15 October at Fiera di Genova (Genoa Fair & Exhibition Centre), was officially presented in Milan Friday. The focus was, in particular, on the new large marina, which has been completed in only eighteen months by Genoa Port Authority and will turn Genoa International Boat Show into one of the most important floating shows in the world. As of today, the estimated number of boats that will be on display in the water is 400, out of 2,330 overall at the Show, with a 15% increase on last year’s figure. 1,650 exhibitors, recording a 7% growth, will take part in the show. 36% of them will be from abroad. Tech Trade too will change considerably, becoming a real “Show within the Show”, featuring almost 500 exhibitors in the accessories sector and boasting an important comeback: diving equipment. “Boat Show” also means nine days of business, meetings, innovation and sports, with the presence of leading experts, institutional representatives, opinion leaders, and past and present champions. All that is new at this year’s Show (organised by Fiera di Genova and UCINA – the Italian professional association of the pleasure boating industry) – was illustrated by Fiera di Genova’s President and Mr Paolo Lombardi, UCINA’s President, Mr Anton F. Albertoni, together with Mr Roberto Urbani and Mr Lorenzo Pollicardo, Fiera di Genova’s Managing Director and UCINA’s General Secretary, respectively. Following the acquisition of the new 60-thousand-square-metre water basin, which has been added up to the pre-existing 40 thousand-metre ¬one and will lie next to a new 12,500 m2 square, Genoa fair & exhibition centre is the only one in the world capable of offering such large, uninterrupted exhibition areas extending inside the pavilions, in the water and in the open air, like the ones ensured by the tensile structure overlooking the marina. Works in the new marina were carried out by Genoa Port Authority using the funds, amounting to almost forty million Euros, allocated by the Italian Ministry for Transports and Infrastructures (such allocation also includes the construction of a ship repair technical basin; additional infrastructural works amounting to 5.6 million Euros have been carried out by Fiera di Genova SpA. Thanks to these major accomplishments, as of this year the most important shipyards in the world will have the opportunity of displaying their complete range of boats in the water. The two marinas consist of twenty-two quays, nine more than in 2005, and will extend over a linear 2.7 kilometre-distance overall. Floating quays have been manufactured by Ingemar. New features also include the two quays along the entrance channel, which have replaced the Marina Due basin, eliminated from the new configuration. 67% of the boats on display at the Show will be up to 10 metres long, 29.5% will range between 10 and 24 metres, and 3.5% (i.e. 80 crafts) will be pleasure boats exceeding 24 metres – 34 of them will be super yachts beyond 30 metres. The new layout The new available areas have resulted in significant changes in the Show layout, which will make product arrangement and subdivisions even clearer. The enlargement of exhibition areas will increase the visibility of all products on display, while facilitating and streamlining public flows. The institutional area at the entrance will be moved to the square in front of pavilion C. The latter’s hall, upper level, and galleries will be entirely devoted to accessories and, together with the first gallery of pavilions S, will be the very heart of Tech Trade, the sector dedicated to accessories and sports fishing. New large ground areas for the boats will enrich the already very wide offer of pavilions S, D, and B and of outdoor spaces. More sailing boats will be displayed in the water, and the nautical tourism section Mondoinvela will be even better integrated. The products belonging to the great Italian boating tradition will be arranged inside pavilion S, as usual, while the shopping area has been moved to the second gallery of pavilion S. The stands representing the shipyards of the sailing boats berthed in Marina Uno entrance channel will overlook Marina Due square, next to the traditional marinas stands. Some inflatables and diving equipment manufacturers will make their debut in this area too. The diving sector will be devoted to leading producers of equipment and accessories, who have identified in Genoa Boat Show an excellent opportunity to do business and gain visibility. The same area will also host trade magazines and services. The Water Stadium, where sports demos and shows are held, has been moved to Marina Due, in front of the Sea Theatre, while the traditional floating bridge connecting the Eastern and the Western areas will be shifted closer to the sea. Such radical changes have required new signs and the set up of new information kiosks at the fairgrounds strategic ‘crossroads’. This is only the beginning of a long-term project looking ahead at the additional forthcoming changes that will follow the building of the new two-storey pavilion B, and aiming at making Genoa Boat Show easier to visit and even more enjoyable. In order to enhance and better identify Tech Trade, a sector which has a very high professional value, new fitting solutions will be implemented, with top-quality pre-fabricated elements, both along the quays and in the shopping areas. Conferences, meetings, and sports activities The environment, small boats, and the applicable laws and standards regulating pleasure boating will be the main themes of the conferences organised and promoted by UCINA at Genoa 46th International Boat Show. The Sea Theatre will mainly focus on boating for all, the promotion of sailing, and the presentation of events and new initiatives, while the Water Stadium will host trials and breathtaking demos organised in cooperation with the various sports federations, Assonautica, Lega Navale, and the Harbour Office – Coast Guard. This year, UCINA has started cooperating with the University of Genoa – Economics and Quantitative Methods Departments. The aim is to restructure, in terms of both contents and methods, the statistical data of “La nautical in cifre” (The boating sector in figures). In fiscal year 2005, the sample of interviewed companies has been enlarged. Consequently, this year’s data cannot be compared to the ones related to 2004 and included in last October’s volume. In 2005, the value of the Italian production of pleasure boats was approximately 2.4 billion Euros, and recorded a 9% increase. (This percentage increase was calculated by comparing the data of a sample formed applying the same criteria as last year). The boating sector’s contribution to Italy’s GDP in 2005, including directly related activities, was approximately 2.9 billion Euros. As for employment in this sector, in 2005 the number of jobs witnessed once again an upward trend. The overall number of people employed in the boating sector is 12,000. Italy keeps being a great exporter of pleasure boats: indeed, Italian exports amount to more than 60% of the overall production value. Data provided by ISTAT (the Italian statistical institute) show that European countries account for 48% of the above-mentioned percentage, with non EU countries reaching 7% and EU countries 41%. 12% of the value of exports stems from trade with the US, while the rest of the American continent absorbs 31% of Italian exports. As for nautical leasing, data supplied by ASSILEA (the association of leasing companies), in 2005 the number of signed contracts reached an absolute value of 1,547 million Euros (1,260 million Euros in 2004), which, expressed as a percentage, means a 22% increase compared to the previous year. Leasing is therefore witnessing a general growth. When data obtained from Harbour Offices are compared with an analysis of leasing data in Italy, it is possible to state that the number of registrations in 2005 was generally stable; an increase was mainly recorded in relation to boats from 16 to 24 metres. With regard to the super yachts sector, the number of orders placed in 2005-2006 highlights a considerable growth; indeed, the number of work orders worldwide has moved up from 651 in 2005 to 688 in 2006. Italy’s presence on the super yachts world market accounts for approximately 38%. Italian shipyards rank first in the world in terms of open work orders – their number was 260 in 2005, with a 4% increase in demand as against the previous year; Italian production mainly focuses on boats between 80 and 100 feet. Preferential days for professional operators October 9 and 10 will be the preferential days for professional operators at Tech Trade, the section including all sectors devoted to accessories and sports fishing. Opening hours, entrances, parking in town, and boat services The Show will be open every day from 10 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. The entrance ticket will cost 13 Euros, reduced fee 10 Euros. Free entrance for children up to 6 years. Groups of at least 30 people can buy reduced tickets at the counters. There will be three accessways to the Show: the Eastern gate in piazzale Kennedy, the Ship Repair Yard (Marina 2), the ticket counter on the quay for visitors arriving by boat from the Old Port, the port parking areas, and Molo Archetti in Pegli. Dogs, obviously on the leash and muzzled, will be admitted to the Show. Thanks to the new area in San Benigno – connected to the fairgrounds by a shuttle – and the opening of Corso Italia (the road along the seafront) every day during the Show, the number of available parking spots will increase to over 7,000. Nonetheless, the organisers keep recommending using public transport as much as possible: trains, buses, taxies, as well as ferry boats and shuttles. The “Welcoming Project” and the calendar of events in town In order to ensure that guests and tourists can enjoy a pleasant stay, Fiera di Genova and UCINA are organising “Progetto Accoglienza” (Welcoming Project), in cooperation with Genoa Chamber of Commerce. This project includes a series of information and transport services devoted to the visitors of the Show and aiming at making them enjoy the city to the fullest, facilitating transfers from and to the airport, railway stations, main hotels, and the city centre, and city tours. |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 11 September 2006 ) |
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