ITALIAN BOATING INDUSTRY TURNOVER HITS RECORD €8.72 BILLION IN 2025
Industry turnover rises 1.4%, exports reach a record €4.4 billion and Italy maintains its global leadership in the superyacht sector. The Italian boating industry closed 2025 at a new all-time high with total turnover reaching €8.72 billion an increase of 1.4% compared with 2024.
The results confirm the overall strength and resilience of the sector while highlighting an increasingly complex and selective market environment. Strong performance in the high-end segment and continued export growth contrast with challenges affecting the small-boat sector for the second consecutive year.
The figures were presented during the preview day of the 66th Genoa International Boat Show, as part of the Boating Economic Forecast, an event dedicated to the latest edition of Boating in Figures LOG. The market analysis is produced by the Research Department of Confindustria Nautica Italian Marine Industry Association, in partnership with Fondazione Edison and in collaboration with IULM COMAR. The roundtable was moderated by Andrea Bignami, journalist at Sky TG24 Economia.
Opening the proceedings, Piero Formenti, President of Confindustria Nautica, said: “These 2025 figures once again demonstrate the strength of an industry capable of reaching a new all-time high in a profoundly shifted international environment. However, the overall figure must be viewed in all its complexity: after years of widespread double-digit growth, different performances now coexist across the various segments.
“Leadership in the high-end segment and the extraordinary international reach of our industry continue to represent major strengths, while the small-boat sector is more exposed to the uncertainty and difficulties affecting the middle class worldwide. Being a leader also means being able to understand these changes and anticipate them. The future competitiveness of the Italian boating industry will depend on its ability to continue innovating, investing in skills, supporting internationalisation and creating the conditions for the entire supply chain to grow.”
New all-time high for the Italian boating industry in 2025, total turnover across the Italian boating industry encompassing recreational craft, marine accessories and engines reached €8.72 billion representing year on year growth of 1.4%.
Employment also continued to expand. Direct employment increased by 3% to 32,420 employees while the wider boating supply chain supports approximately 170,000 jobs.
The industry’s contribution to Italian GDP reached €7.51 billion, equivalent to 3.32‰ of national GDP.
Behind the record overall result, however, performance varied significantly across individual market segments.
Italian boatbuilding production reached €5.47 billion, up 0.5% compared with 2024. Production of inboard powered craft increased by 1.3%, while the segments most closely associated with smaller recreational craft including outboard-powered boats, inflatable boats and sailing boats continued to face challenging market conditions following an already difficult 2024.
Stefano Pagani Isnardi, Head of the Confindustria Nautica Research Department, commented: “2025 confirms the Italian boating industry’s ability to maintain an overall positive performance, but also clearly demonstrates that there is no longer a single market dynamic.
“Italian production is strongly positioned in the high-end segment of boatbuilding and in supplies for superyachts within the equipment segment, both of which continue to support the industry. At the same time, the small-boat industry recorded a significant contraction for the second consecutive year, against an international backdrop defined by greater economic and social uncertainty.
“Employment figures remain positive: direct employment grew by 3%, exceeding 32,000, demonstrating the industry’s production capacity and the depth of its supply chain.”
Exports reach record €4.4 billion international markets remain one of the defining strengths of the Italian boating industry.
In 2025, exports represented 90% of boatbuilding production, reaching a record value of €4.4 billion, up 2.6% compared with 2024. Italy’s share of global exports stood at 21.3%.
The country’s international leadership is particularly evident in the superyacht sector. Italy once again ranked first worldwide for superyacht orders with 568 units representing 52% of the global order total.
Marco Fortis, Director and Vice President of Fondazione Edison, said: “Boating represents one of the most significant examples of international growth in Italian manufacturing. Since the beginning of the new millennium, Italian exports of recreational craft have risen from around €0.8 billion to €4.4 billion, increasing more than fivefold.
“This result places the sector among the most dynamic areas of Italian manufacturing exports and is accompanied by an outstanding position in the international trade balance for motor yachts. This strength does not stem from a single production hub, but from a system of highly specialised districts capable of expressing different skills, supply chains and market specialisations, and of competing successfully on the global stage.”
The geographical concentration of production further underlines the specialised nature of the Italian boating industry. Almost 90% of boatbuilding turnover is generated across five regional production hubs while the Northern Mediterranean area between Liguria and Tuscany accounts for more than half of total production.
These regional specialisations are also reflected in the international markets served by individual territories, creating a network of highly specialised production districts deeply integrated into global markets.
A supply chain extending beyond boatbuilding Italy’s marine accessories and equipment industry continues to make a significant contribution to the sector’s international competitiveness.
The segment generated total turnover of €2.03 billion in 2025 an increase of 0.4% year on year.
Italian production within the segment reached €1.54 billion, up 0.5% with exports accounting for 47% of production. The results highlight the ability of Italian component and equipment manufacturers to integrate successfully into the supply chains of shipyards worldwide.
The industry enters a more selective market phase the 2025 results portray an industry transitioning from the broad expansionary cycle of recent years into a more complex and selective phase.
While the Italian boating industry has achieved another all-time turnover record, performance increasingly differs across individual market segments. The high-end sector, strong export demand and Italy’s global leadership in superyachts continue to support growth while smaller recreational craft remain exposed to broader economic and consumer pressures.
Against this evolving backdrop, internationalisation, high-end market leadership, specialised production districts, innovation and investment in skills remain central to the competitiveness and long-term development of the Italian boating industry.
