Post-Covid boating industry ready to relaunch but it needs help

Post-Covid boating is back on track stronger than even, but needs government support

The pandemic tsunami has swept through all sectors of the world economy.  Only one sector has withstood the impetuous impact of the Covid-19 crisis and is ready to restart stronger than ever: the boating industry, especially the Italian one. Yes, you’ve got it right: the Italian boating industry has gritted its teeth in a disastrous 2020 and is now preparing to relaunch in grand style but, to do so, it needs significant support. The Government, in fact, is called upon to support the maritime sector, which is one of the most strategic segments of Italy and therefore one of the main drivers of the country’s recovery in terms of both production and tourism.

With a supply chain that employs 180,000 people and world leadership in industrial production as its driving force, the sector requires a proactive contribution from all the public players involved in terms of operational capacity, experience and knowledge of the materials involved, in order to develop a medium- and long-term project within a multi-sectorial vision and integrated perspective.

Even before being a frontier, the sea is a fundamental resource for Italy, a pillar of our country, the showcase of inland territories living in symbiosis with ports and coasts, an environmental asset to be protected.

Hence the message jointly launched by Unioncamere, Confindustria Nautica (the Italian Boating Industry Confederation) and Assonat, which loudly emphasize the need to identify professional figures increasingly capable of enhancing the boating sector and the maritime world in general, taking into account the economic and social importance they represent, and meeting the expectations of entrepreneurs, sector operators, citizens and international users.

Therefore, now more than ever, the rapid adoption of the new Regulation implementing the Nautical Code, the appointment of the new General Commander of the Port Authorities and the strengthening of the Maritime Transport Directorate of the MIMS, also with the introduction of new resources, are of strategic importance, also in view of their coincidence in time.

The boating industry has shown solidity and compactness in the most critical year since the post-war period. The unexpected success of the 60th Genoa International Boat Show last autumn (when the virus was looming again) and the excellent results of the recently concluded Venice Boat Show are the clearest proof of this. But in order to win the battles of the future, the post-Covid boating industry inevitably needs fresh, enterprising and far-sighted forces.