The 35th International Boat Show Held in Genoa, Italy

The 35th International Boat Show which was held in Genoa, Italy, is Europe's biggest international exhibition of power boats, sail boats, catamarans, marine equipment supplies and services.

The International Boat Show spanning an area of approximately 245,000 m2 was jointly organised by Fiera di Genova and Unione Nazionale Cantieri e Industrie Nautiche Ed Affini (UCINA).

Mr Giovanni Motzo, Minister of Institutional Reforms, representing the government, Mr Carlo Chimenti, undersecretary of Transport and Navigation, the President of Regione Liguria, the President of Provincia di Genova, Mr Guido Grillo, President of Fiera de Genova and Mr Mario Giusfredi, President of UCINA, graced the opening of the 35th International Boat Show on 14th October 1995.

This year saw a total number of 1365 exhibitors, an increase of 11 % over last year. The foreign exhibitors, representing 34.6% of the whole, had increased 16% and the number of countries participating had increased from 30 to 32.

The number of boats announced on display too shows a 5.6% increase over last year, amounting in total to 1620. 150 of them were displayed on water in the "Sea Pavilion" which was a unique feature of the Genoese exhibition. The novelties, according to the exhibitors, were 350 equal to 21.6%.

The increased number of foreign exhibitors was particularly significant as it was interpreted as a new interest shown by the operators towards the Italian market. It was also viewed as a favourable evaluation of the more general trends of the international market whose operators always come to Genoa in great numbers, being the Italian exhibition the first of the kind held for the market season.

After a number of years, among the boats announced on display, the number of sailing boats had remarkably increased to more than 19% over last year's edition, while for the boats longer than 10 metres the increase showed an even higher figure 40%. This should confirm the positive trend of leisure sailing to which the present edition of the Boat Show dedicated a promotional day supported by UCINA and the Italian Sailing Association.

There was also a considerable increase in the power boats up to 7.5 metres 13.5% while the class between 7.5 and 18 metres showed a drop (3.7%) as the class over 18 metres did. Inflatable boats also increased about 8% over last year.

The foreign countries represented by the higher number of exhibitors was, as usual, the USA. It was followed by Great Britain, Germany, France and Japan. The Italian region represented by the higher number of exhibitors is, as usual, Lombardia which covers 30% of the total, traditionally followed by Liguria with 20%, and then by Toscana, Lazio, Emilia Romagna.

The 35th International Boat Show brought in a gala of events throughout the 10 days with the chief event of the opening day being the presentation of the Fashion Collection expressly designed for this Boat Show by Nicola Trussardi who has found inspiration for his models in the sportswear suitable for sailing and cruising.

The "Sailing Day", organised by UCINA and FIV as testimony to the remarkable success gained by the Italian sport of sailing, started a round of meetings and events to promote leisure sailing and sail sports. Conferences, discussions, videos, famous personalities, sail races, wind-surfing and the like went on throughout the exhibit period.

During an interview with Mr Mario Giusfredi, President of UCI-NA, he said, " The 35th Genoa International Boat Show opens under the banner of success with a significant increase of exhibitors."

"The international boating market shows some recovering signals. However, the Italian marine industry has not yet recovered from a problematic situation."