The fourth edition of the Venice Boat Show closed with over 30,000 attendees: it is an increasingly important and central event not only for the city
Visitors who flocked to the Arsenal during the five days that marked the fourth edition of the Venice Boat Show came from all over the Adriatic basin, Eastern Europe and thirty foreign states, confirming the Boat Show as central to this market sector, which is still growing and finding new insights each season.
What was once the world’s largest shipbuilding factory has hosted the giants of international boating, veritable jewels that, year after year, break records in size, luxury, design, technology and comfort. The Venice Boat Show, with numbers quantitatively and qualitatively always growing, has thus become a reference point for boating enthusiasts, renewing the deep bond between Venice and the sea, in the city that has always celebrated the marriage with its waters. The event-created by Vela spa on behalf of the City of Venice and in collaboration with the Italian Navy for the extraordinary opening of the Arsenal-is supported by the government and the region. It was officially opened on Wednesday, May 31, by Senate President Ignazio La Russa, with Vice-Premier and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Matteo Salvini, President of CNEL, the National Council for Economy and Labor, Renato Brunetta, President of the Veneto Region Luca Zaia, Admiral Enrico Credendino, Chief of Staff of the Navy, and Matteo Zoppas, President of ICE Agency, welcomed by Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro. The show again this year was organized according to a sustainable event management system and received ISO 20121: 2012 certification from RINA Spa.
City Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said, “The Arsenal confirmed that it is the home of the people of the sea, which includes not only those who crowded the docks in search of their ideal boat, but also many insiders, scholars, and politicians who care about it. We saw a lot of interest around the boats presented, a lot of satisfaction from the shipyards. The Boat Show was also the scene of the first conference of the Venice Foundation World Capital of Sustainability, confirming the attention we have on this fundamental issue for our future and especially the future of our young people. Sustainability, which is also reflected in the sea with an entire pier dedicated to green navigation, which opens up new scenarios for the application of technological research on an industrial scale, and with the 154 million euros of investment by the Avm/Actv group to make the waterbus fleet ever greener.”
The mayor also announced the dates for next year: “The next edition will be from May 29 to June 2, 2024.The Salone this year was wonderful, but the next one will be even better. We are waiting for all visitors to join us again to repeat this incredible experience. These five days have confirmed the desire to make the event a central event of the city but also of the entire eastern Mediterranean, and the Boat Show has shown that it has what it takes to be a reference point for Italy’s development and economic growth.”
In addition to visiting boats, the Boat Show was the venue for some 50 scientific events such as conferences, lectures and presentations on the theme of sustainability, as well as workshops and educational activities for children and families and water trials. The ancient Tese, once production spaces of the Serenissima, hosted traditional Venetian shipbuilding, nautical equipment and accessories, as well as novelties in the propulsion sector.
Brugnaro added, “I want to thank all those who chose to come to Venice, from the smallest to the largest companies, to the many visitors who had the opportunity to arrive directly by boat, the Navy and all the police forces, to the employees of our investee companies, from Vela to the AVM/Actv group, Venis, Veritas, Fondazione Musei Civici, to the City Council and the Metropolitan City. Thanks also to the workers (booth attendants, hostesses, workers, receptionists and caterers, sailors, salespeople, cleaners, transportation and various services) who worked to make everything run smoothly. Thanks to the Government and the Veneto Region who honored us with their presence again for this edition, understanding how boating is a strategic sector for the entire country, which has 8,000 km of coastline.”
The Show was attended by 300 boats, 240 of which were in the water, with a total length of 2.7 kilometers, 220 exhibitors of which 180 were Italian (including Ferretti Group, Azimut Benetti, Solaris Yachts, Sanlorenzo Yachts, Pardo, Arcadia, Invictus, Absolute and FIM), more than 2,000 operators, more than 500 staff, 448 accredited journalists, 33 foreign operators and journalists brought by ICE Agency (from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, France, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Spain, Serbia, and the United Kingdom), more than 50 cultural and in-depth events including conferences and talk shows, most of them dedicated to the theme of sustainability, marine health, and new electric and hybrid propulsion systems.
“It closes, with satisfaction, the Venice Boat Show and opens a wonderful opportunity for the boating industry and the tourism industry related to it. I am increasingly convinced that the Upper Adriatic and Venice can increasingly become our French Riviera, with several points in our favor, including the unparalleled beauty and year-round attractiveness of Venice itself,” said Avv Alberto Galassi, Ceo of Ferretti Group. “Just as we believed in the Boat Show when we were looked upon as dreamers, so now we think that the Italian nautical sector, which alone invoices half of the world’s order book, can give horizon and concreteness to this project, making the strip of coastline from Trieste to Venice a hub of great interest for international yachting.”
Satisfaction was also expressed by the Solaris Yachts shipyard, which is present in both the sailing and motor sectors. Said sales manager Vincenzo De Maria: “We are really satisfied with the organization and the result, which is beyond expectations. Some of our customers joined us by boat, using the mooring possibility offered by the Show’s convention.”
Among the exhibitors who arrived from abroad was Pegasus Yachts, which presented the 50-footer in traditional and electric versions. The boat also won the 2022 Ostar, a solo transatlantic. “We are grateful to the Venice Boat Show: we are here for the third time, in these years the development has been great and I still see growth,” said Marko Pas, founder of the Croatian shipyard, “I believe that this boat show will become a great reference as Genoa and Cannes are. We are working on the American market, and Venice is an ideal destination for those coming from far away: there are direct flights from many major cities from the States. Venice will still be our home.”
In the motor sector, the foreign presence is obviously more substantial with exhibitors coming from Turkey, such as Sirena Yacht, which displayed the Sirena 58; from Brittany, the area of France with a high yard rate the Fountaine Pajot 67. In addition, Sunseeker came from England with four boats, including the Superhawk 55 and the Manhattan 65. Perhaps most representative of foreign interest was the Greek shipyard Omikron, which presented its newest boat launched in Athens a few weeks before the event and arrived in the Arsenal by sailing. Nikolas Dendrinos administrator of the yard says, “We could not have chosen a better venue for the launch of our new Omikron OT-60 boat brand and concept. A very well organized show in an incredible location, perfect to showcase our boat. We received so much interest and can already confirm that we will be there again next year.”
“A project like the Boat Show,” recalled Vela spa chief operating officer Fabrizio D’Oria, “involves ongoing work where the challenge is to increasingly combine qualitative and quantitative growth of the event. This edition confirms to us that we are going in the right direction. The show closes its doors today, but we start working immediately for next year.”
“Exhibitors are reporting to us their commercial satisfaction realized in these 5 intense days of the event, this is the best feedback we could expect for the growth of the fifth edition of the Show in 2024,” added sales director Alberto Bozzo.
The Boat Show was also a container for television products and the launch of traditional city events, first and foremost the Palio of the Ancient Maritime Republics aired live on Tg2. Just on the final day of the event, starting at 5:15 p.m. on the national Rai3 channel a one-hour Special was aired dedicated to nautical issues, but not only, with guests, interviews, in-depth reports and links from the various sections of the Boat Show, in the historic heart of Venice, in anticipation of the next edition.
Photo credit Studio Borlenghi
(Venice Boat Show 2023, the final report – Barchemagazine.com – June 2023)
