In 2025, Europe’s leading industry event, and among the three largest in the world, the Genoa International Boat Show entered its 65th edition, celebrating and enhancing the sector while reaffirming its central role as a global showcase devoted to the best of the supply chain, both Italian and international. Held by Confindustria Nautica, the Italian Marine Industry Association, from 18-23 September, the event once again transformed the historic port city of Genoa and its newly redeveloped waterfront into the world’s yachting capital.
Taking place across over 220,000m2 of exhibition area on land and sea, of which 85 per cent is outdoors, the Genoa Boat Show spoils visitors and exhibitors with not just one boat show, but five boat shows in one. From small RIBs to sailing boats, catamarans and superyachts, the more than 1,000 boats exhibited definitely turned heads, but the event’s iconic Blue Pavilion, now an island surrounded by the sea, housed even more of the industry, offering the latest cutting-edge tech from the worlds of engines, components, equipment, and accessories, catering to every segment of the industry.
Entering the show this year, visitors were greeted by the stunning new additions to Genoa’s unique seafront redevelopment project, penned by architect Renzo Piano and now almost entirely completed, transforming the area into the only location in the world to be purpose-built for the yachting industry. After passing through the new indoor venue, the trade show route expands seamlessly among a vibrant display of over 1,000 brands on display from 45 countries, with 123 new products to discover and 96 premieres.
As most Italian companies exhibiting are members of the organising trade association, the Genoa International Boat Show is, in every way, organised by the industry, for the industry, a key aspect that sets Genoa apart from its competitors and one that has helped boost another unique quality found only at the Italian show: the easily accessible sea trials, 4,050 of which were held over the course of the event’s six days.
And, thanks to the close collaboration of the Italian Trade Agency, in order to promote Italian companies on the global stage, delegations of international buyers and leading industry press were invited to attend. In just six days of the event, 1,154 accredited journalists from around the world were registered and 2,416 articles were published.
Another defining element aimed at promoting industry excellence was TechTrade Days 2025. The two-day event offered professionals and companies a B2B format designed to foster discussion, business development and networking opportunities between manufacturers, suppliers, designers and yards, and discover the most innovative solutions among over 400 exhibiting marine equipment and component brands.
Over 124,000 visitors flocked to the Ligurian capital from across the globe to experience a 65th edition dedicated to celebrating the industry’s future, spearheading tangible solutions for sustainable innovation and greater opportunities for training and education.
Among a brimming programme of 132 seminars, conferences and workshops, the spotlight also shone on initiatives designed to inspire and educate the next generation through a number of events to which secondary school and university students were invited, dedicated to illustrating the importance of the marine environment and the many career path opportunities it holds.
Above: the sixth edition of the Design Innovation Awards was held in parallel with the Boat Show, with a ceremony hosted at Genoa’s Palazzo Ducale.
The show’s commitment to promoting the future of the industry also saw young university students and entrepreneurs at the heart of the exhibitors’ side of the event.
Coordinated in collaboration with the Italian Trade Agency, the dedicated Start-Up Area inside the Blue Pavilion, at the heart of the fair, gave 12 fascinating start-ups the chance to be showcased on a global platform and take part in a public event organised to promote their game-changing designs and products to the world. The visitor demographics also shifted during the 65th edition towards a younger audience thanks not only to tailored initiatives but also to a reduced ticket price for visitors under the age of 25.
Nurturing the next generation and promoting a sustainable future go hand in hand. And Genoa is no exception. In fact, official ISO certifying body RINA renewed the ISO 20121 Certification for the sustainable design of the 65th Genoa International Boat Show, acknowledging the event’s unwavering commitment to sustainable yachting.
That same focused commitment to industry-wide sustainability also saw a plethora of conferences organised, of which a high point was the 4th World Yachting Sustainability Forum, held by Confindustria Nautica in collaboration with IBI. Here, sustainability took centre stage with exclusive insights, new consumer research, and debate tackling the future of yachting.
Moderated by IBI editor-in-chief Ed Slack, speakers included representatives of the European Commission, the European boating federation EBI, consultancy firm McKinsey & Co., and top-tier industry names Ferretti Group, Beneteau, Fountaine Pajot, and Azimut-Benetti, alongside renowned designer Dan Lenard.
The theme of sustainable innovation also inspired the winners of the 6th Design Innovation Award ceremony, held this year in Genoa’s magnificent Palazzo Ducale. Gradually claiming its place as a hallmark event for international yachting design, each year the Award celebrates excellence in research, innovation, and sustainability.
The jury, chaired by Walter De Silva, one of the world's most illustrious designers of contemporary automotive design, selected winners for 10 categories along with special prizes for outstanding innovation, talent and career. Marina Stella explained how the Design Innovation Award exists ‘to celebrate the excellence of our boating industry and of the exhibitors present at the Boat Show, as well as the ingenuity of our entrepreneurs.’ Both the Genoa Boat Show and the Award, in Marina Stella’s words, ‘spread a culture of innovation and sustainability throughout the entire nautical industry chain’.
Genoa also acted as an international stage for world sailing as America's Cup Events (ACE), organisers of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup, announced a strategic partnership agreement that will see Confindustria Nautica become the “Strategic Marine Industry Advisory Partner” for the America's Cup, taking place in Naples in 2027, and support ACE in facilitating the identification of strategic companies from across the Italian marine industry chain.
Grant Dalton, CEO of Defender Emirates Team New Zealand, commented on how, by working closely with Italy’s trade association, ‘ACE is tapping into vast resources and experience.’ Both of which ACE and Dalton witnessed first-hand in Genoa: ‘It is an extraordinary Boat Show as are the boats and the culture it expresses. I hope to see all the people I have seen here in Naples!’
From sport to industry, ever-focused on the future, the Genoa Boat Show also provides in-depth analyses, insightful seminars and key data through the annual Boating Economic Forecast, in which the latest edition of the Nautica in Cifre – LOG, (“Yachting in Figures”) is presented, the statistical yearbook produced by Confindustria Nautica’s Research Department in partnership with the Fondazione Edison.
According to the data presented this year, 2024 consolidated growth normalisation, following an extended post-pandemic cycle that saw turnover double over four years, stabilising the Italian boating industry, with a clear divergence recorded between high-end and small boat segments. Of the total turnover (€8.60 billion), €2.55 billion (29.7 per cent) was generated by domestic demand and €6.05 billion (70.3 per cent) by foreign markets. 87.8 per cent of turnover was generated by domestic production (€7.55 billion), while 78 per cent was exported (€5.90 billion). Employment also rose, reaching 31,480 jobs (+2.6 per cent) along with the industry’s GDP contribution, which rose to €7.40 billion (3.37‰ of Italy’s GDP). The most effective factor driving performance throughout 2024 was boatbuilding, with the new build segment reaching €5.4 billion and 89 per cent of all Italian boatbuilding production destined for markets overseas.
Stefano Pagani Isnardi, head of the Confindustria Nautica research department, presented the latest figures, explaining that even with smaller realities suffering the ‘commerce-related uncertainty regarding US tariffs, businesses expect to see a recovery as early as 2026-2027. And the first signs of this reversal could already be visible in the performance of our Genoa International Boat Show, where innovative designs and a strong focus on new market demands and trends could trigger a renewal of boat owners’ confidence in the sector.’ And this was indeed the case.
With Italy maintaining its role as unmatched industry leader in numerous yachting segments worldwide, achieving positive turnover, exports and job figures despite international uncertainty, Genoa continued in 2025 to not only mirror but enhance these results. In the words of Piero Formenti, president of Confindustria Nautica, ‘feedback from exhibitors only confirms a substantial sense of satisfaction of the entire sector: from superyachts to medium-sized boats to equipment and components manufacturers, who particularly appreciated the TechTrade Days, which proved to be a new addition capable of generating important contacts. Even the small boat industry, which had come to the Boat Show with trepidation, found customers, closed deals, and registered a generally positive sentiment.’
With an even larger increase in visitors since the previous year, a record-breaking 124,248 (+2.8 per cent on 2024), with more boats, brands and sea trials, the 65th Genoa International Boat Show proved to be another global celebration of yachting and its future.
