October 31, 2024, Fort Lauderdale FL – After the recent success of the 64th Genoa International Boat Show, the great Italian boating industry returns to Fort Lauderdale for the 2024 Boat Show – FLIBS (October 30 – November 3) to launch the 65th edition (in Genoa from September 18 to 23, 2025) and to explain the beautiful, well-made and technologically cutting-edge qualities that make Made in Italy boats the most sold in the world.
Having reached the sixth presentation event in two years in the United States, with stops in New York, Newport and FLIBS, Confindustria Nautica has demonstrated how the reputation and branding of all Made in Italy products in the U.S. pass through the communication and promotion of exceptional, globally successful trade show formats like the Genoa International Boat Show.
The highlights of the 64th Genoa International Boat Show (which was held September 19 to 24 of last year) included celebrating the fifth edition of the Design Innovation Award, which highlights the excellence of the exhibited products, in terms of design, research and sustainability, and interaction with the world of interiors.
This year, to celebrate the Boat Show at FLIBS, the formula of the aperitif at the show was chosen, with a double event organized by the Italian Trade Agency Miami (the office responsible for the boating industry sector in the U.S.) on October 31 and November 1.
It was once again an opportunity to reinforce Italy’s strong participation, with 18 companies in the national pavilion, at the most important boating showcase in the United States. Its goal was to spread the word about the record results (of exhibitors and visitors) of the 64th Genoa International Boat Show and to invite the many American boating enthusiasts to the 65th edition.
The United States is the first market for Italy and in 2023 another export record was beaten, with 691 million dollars, equal to a 20% growth compared to 2022 (which was already a record year).
“The Boat Show is a perfect format, a true industry brand, because the Italian boating industry is quintessentially Made in Italy; everything together in one product: technology, design, materials, along with performance, innovation, style and trends.
This year we are in the tenth consecutive year of double-digit growth of Italian sales, and we are once again celebrating the important collaboration between boating and design, as demonstrated by the cooperation between the Genoa Boat Show and the Milan Furniture Fair (for the second year, Maria Porro, President of the Furniture Fair, chaired the jury for the Genoa Design Innovation Award). In addition, last April 16, during the Furniture Fair in Milan, an event on boating design and interiors was held. A perfect example of integrated promotion,” stated Carlo Angelo Bocchi, Director of the ICE Office in Miami.
“The Italian boating industry has nearly tripled its revenue over the last 8 years, reaching, at the end of 2023, the historic record of 8.33 billion euros and surpassing 30,000 direct employees.
The export of yachts reached its historic maximum at the end of 2023, with more than 4 billion, with the United States being the first market of reference for Italian boats.
Despite the fact that the trend changed at the global level during 2024, with a normalization of growth in the sector and a more evident differentiation of the dynamics between high-end products and small boats, the performances of the main international events of reference – such as, our Genoa Boat Show and FLIBS – can calibrate the progress of the market for the 2024/2025 boating year.
The outlooks for the future, at the Italian industry level, should however remain positive overall, despite the current external complex economic scenarios,” declared Stefano Pagani Isnardi, Director of the Confindustria Nautica Research Department.
In the photo: Roberto Perocchio, President Assomarinas – Piero Formenti, Vice President Confindustria Nautica – Erica Di Giovancarlo, Italian Trade Commissioner New York and Coordinator of ITA Offices in the US – Michele Mistò, Consul General of Italy in Miami Stefano Pagani Isnardi, Director of the Confindustria Nautica Research Department – Carlo Angelo Bocchi, Italian Trade Commissioner Miami