Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – The Genoa Boat Show is getting underway. The 66th edition opens with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and will be a six-day international showcase with impressive numbers: over 1000 brands from 45 countries and five continents, more than 1000 boats, 215 new arrivals, and an exhibition spread across over 220 square meters.
And now, becoming the world's leading boat show, according to Piero Formenti, president of Confindustria Nautica, is no longer such a distant goal. This is also because the Made in Italy boating industry is booming: in 2025, it reached an all-time high of €8,72 billion in revenue (+1,4%). Not bad considering that the international geopolitical situation is certainly weighing heavily and is impacting products that should be among the most affordable.
The high-end segment is holding up well, with a backlog of 568 Made-in-Italy superyacht orders, equal to 52% of the global total. Foreign sales are also performing well: the value of exports reached a new record of €4,4 billion, up 2,6% compared to 2024. Italy's share of global exports now stands at 21,3%.
Small boats, on the other hand, are suffering for the second consecutive year, even though the downward trend began years ago: between 2015 and 2024, recreational craft registered in Italy decreased by 22%.
For boats, the percentage worsens: we're at 35,7%. Formenti is clear in pointing to the difficulty the middle class has in purchasing as one of the reasons.
"The 2025 figures," he explained, "once again show us a strong industry, capable of reaching a new all-time high in a profoundly changed international landscape. But the overall data must be interpreted in its entirety: after years of widespread double-digit growth, today we see divergent performances across segments. The leadership of the high-end segment and the extraordinary international vocation of our industry continue to represent strengths, while the small-scale boating industry is more affected by the uncertainties and difficulties affecting the middle class globally. Being a leader also means knowing how to read these changes and anticipate them. The future competitiveness of the Italian recreational boating industry will depend on the ability to continue to innovate, invest in skills, support internationalization, and create the conditions for growth across the entire supply chain."
And the real question that seems to emerge from the show is precisely this: how big can a nautical industry be if boating is becoming increasingly less accessible to the middle class? But the goal of supporting it is there: "We are truly talking," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in her speech, "about a significant portion of our economy, which is one of the reasons why I believe it made perfect sense to come to the Boat Show. We are doing our best to also defend this Italian excellence, which clearly generates an extraordinary multiplier, also in terms of jobs."
Over the next six days, the best of Italian manufacturing will compete with the best of international production; from boats to components, from technology to design, Genoa will be the capital and hub of the global nautical industry.
"Both Mayor Salis and President Bucci," Formenti emphasized, "have given us the opportunity to have a waterfront that will allow us to truly become the largest Boat Show in the world. We're now very close. I have high expectations for ourselves, for our entrepreneurs, and for the city as a whole. We're now almost unrivaled; others are falling behind, but we're constantly growing. By moving the date, we were even able to accommodate superyachts. We're fully booked, and this is just the beginning. With the new dock announced by Paroli, President of the Western Ligurian Sea Port Authority, we'll have space for even larger yachts. We're ahead, and we want to stay there."
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