FIV, Confindustria Nautica (Italian Marine Industry Association), Genoa Boat Show and Barcolana: a collaboration between Genoa and Trieste

United to promote Italian boating in the world; the Italian Sailing Federation, Barcolana and the Genoa Boat Show are working together to create an exceptional October for Italian yachting and sailing. In the first part of October, the Genoa Boat Show and Barcolana will focus the attention of sailing fans onto Genoa and Trieste. In a “passing of the baton” between the two premiere boating events, which thanks to the FIV (who had in recent days arranged a meeting between the leaders of the two events), these two organizations will re-launch their historic partnership. This year, they are proposing a new and united strategy to internationally promote the “economy of the sea”, Made in Italy. Together, these two major Italian sailing institutions are committed in this agreement to engage in international promotion,  to bring focus on the industry and help develop a synergistic image between the two major events that represent Italian sailing and yachting in the world.

At the meeting organized by the President of the FIV, Francesco Ettorre, in which the exceptional nature of this moment following the health crisis was noted, it was decided to focus the attention on the need to make the most of the synergies between the two events and capitalize on the fact that they will take place back to back in 2020, especially with an eye to international participation.

The meeting organized by Ettorre was attended by: the Director General of Confindustria Nautica (Italian Marine Industry Association), Marina Stella, the Marketing Director of the Genoa Boat Show, Alessandro Campagna, the President of the Sailing sector of Confindustria Nautica (Italian Marine Industry Association), Fabio Planamente, the President of Barcolana, Mitja Gialuz, the International head of Barcolana, Dean Bassi, and the advisor in charge of the Altomare sector of FIV, Donatello Mellina.

From the friendly and constructive climate of the meeting, other possible venues of synergy also emerged on key aspects of the two events that have strong appeal to the public. There was talk of promotion and communication, but also searching for potential economies of scale, through joint work and the development of shared initiatives between the two events. In particular, exchanges of know-how between organizations will be promoted; from the sharing of the advice from their respective technical-scientific experts to find the best application of “anti-Covid” guidelines and the management of social distance in their respective major events.

What emerged in the meeting will be further developed in round table discussions in the coming weeks, which will involve Federvela, Confindustria Nautica (Italian Marine Industry Association), The Genoa Boat Show and Barcolana.

THE KEY STATEMENTS

Francesco Ettorre, President of FIV:”I thank everyone present and I am happy with the attendance and success of our initiative. For us the Boat Show and the Barcolana are two of the most important moments for the growth of our industry, it is important to capitalize on them, by combining forces, accelerating the desire to begin again that we all have. My idea is shared by the entire Federal Council, after all, FIV has always played a leading role at both the Boat Show and the Barcolana, two major events that will now integrate and propel each other forward.”

Donatello Mellina, FIV Advisor in charge of Altomare: “Thank you all for supporting the importance of collaboration. It’s a nice sign of common sense and good will, today results are achieved only by working together.”

Marina Stella, Director General of Confindustria Nautica (Italian Marine Industry Association): “I reaffirm the desire on behalf of Confindustria Nautica to consolidate the synergy between two major nautical events. This is inherent in our Association’s mission, and it cannot be otherwise, namely the promotion of boating and the culture of the sea. The date of the Boat Show was a decision made after careful considerations with the contractors, given the need to recover the production and delivery cycle interrupted in March due to the health emergency, with an option to extend in case of tightening of distancing measures. Thanks to the new October date, an important opportunity opens up to develop new and effective initiatives to collaborate and enhance the two events.”

Mitja Gialuz, President of Barcolana:  “Together, to promote to the general public boating Made in Italy and boating in Italy. This is the great common bond between the Genoa Boat Show and Barcolana, and I thank the president of the Italian Sailing Federation, Francesco Ettorre for underscoring it and for promoting an important meeting. The situation we are experiencing has prompted us to lay the foundations for developing a new strategy of strong and unprecedented collaboration on many sides between the two great Italian capitals of sailing, Genoa and Trieste: Teamwork. With this agreement, which I consider exceptional, also in the sense that we all hope to be able to return to normality in 2021, we have chosen to prioritize the interests of the whole world of boating and sailing in particular, creating a common platform and a cohesive image in international promotion”.”

Fabio Planamente, President of the Sailing Sector of Confindustria Nautica (Italian Marine Industry Association): “As an association we are confronted with the many different realities that make up the boating industry and it is not easy to please everyone. The dates give a nice continuity to The Boat Show and Barcolana. Now with the two organizations we will have to create a unified message for the agencies, asking for clarity in a very short time on the rules and guidelines to follow in the two events.”

Alessandro Campagna, Marketing Director of the Genoa Boat Show:  “I also thank everyone for the meeting and their availability. Today everything changes quickly, and we have to be ready to adapt. I welcome the invitation to share knowledge, tools and ideas, in particular to seek the possibility of achieving economies of scale. Now we will have to be operational, in our respective roles and skills.”

Dean Bassi, in charge of International operations for Barcolana: “The activities of the Boat Show and Barcolana are complementary; from this it is possible to reap benefits, to become in some way a single widespread event, network to amplify communications on the Made in Italy of boating, and on Italian nautical destinations.”