Between October 15 and 17, the Arsenale di Venezia hosted the ICOMIA World Marinas Conference 2025, the most important international event dedicated to the sector of marinas and recreational boating infrastructure. Since 1993, this special event has taken place every two years in a different location, spanning all continents: in 2021 it was held in Dubai, in 2023 in Vilamoura, this year in Venice, while in 2027 it will be Shanghai‘s turn.

The 2025 Conference was organized by Vento di Venezia, Assomarinas, and Confindustria Nautica, with a rich array of sponsors and supporters, and with the participation of over 600 professionals from 40 countries. Thus, in Venice, directors of marinas from every corner of the world gathered, along with architects, engineers, maritime authorities, and investors.

ICOMIA Conference: a Valuable Moment of Growth

For us at the marina of Genoa, as well as for the managers of other marinas, ICOMIA conferences always represent valuable training moments, with the opportunity to discover innovations, improvements, and the most interesting solutions implemented by marinas globally. “What makes the ICOMIA program particularly stimulating is the presentation of experiences from extremely diverse realities,” emphasizes Andrea Barbagelata, President of Marina Porto Antico, “so as to learn about the solutions implemented by those managing a marina in the harsh climates of Northern Europe as well as those identified by those doing the same work in a tropical climate; furthermore, innovations introduced in small freshwater marinas are presented alongside those experimented in large marine marinas. The opportunity to engage with the multifaceted world of port management creates fertile ground for the continuous improvement of the sector and individual marinas, and we at the marina of Genoa will also make the most of what we learned at ICOMIA 2025 to further optimize some aspects of Marina Porto Antico.”

Marinas and Sustainability: an Increasingly Close Bond

Meetings, plenary sessions, workshops: among the main themes of ICOMIA 2025 was undoubtedly the ecological transition and sustainability, with marinas called to minimize environmental impact. After all, this represents one of the main needs of the boaters themselves: as reminded by one of the most anticipated guests of the Conference, Alberto Galassi, CEO of Ferretti Group, who urged marinas worldwide – and particularly those in Italy – to pay more attention to customer needs. The world of boating is indeed rapidly changing, and marinas need to follow these changes, adapting to the new market demands. Among the aspects cited as examples was the greater width of current boats, necessitating a reshaping of berths in marinas; as well as a more pronounced need for safety from boaters, combined with a growing awareness of the need to act more environmentally friendly. Hence, the call for the necessity to equip marinas with effective systems for waste separation and the disposal of oils and batteries, as well as devices to reduce energy consumption. Our marina in Genoa has always maintained high attention to these needs, with regular interventions aimed at raising the bar of mooring sustainability: consider the recent replacement of dockside columns with smart devices that allow for monitoring and accounting of consumption, which has led to a greater sense of responsibility among boaters; the recent implementation of the waste separation system, with an increase in the number of bins, now directly present on the docks of our marina in Genoa.

During the conference, the topic of using alternative energy sources in marinas was also addressed, starting with the exploitation of wave and tidal energy; however, the objective analysis of the marina in Genoa does not make these paths feasible, leaving the door open for the use of photovoltaics.

Best Practices for the Future

ICOMIA Conferences are a source of best practices not only for increasing the sustainability of marinas but also for digitization in port management, human resource training, and safety. Of particular relevance from this perspective is the announcement in Venice by the Yacht Harbour Association of the update of its Code of Practice, which will be published in several volumes between November 2025 and May 2026: we will closely follow these new developments to implement new value-added services for all boaters who choose our marina.

The WOW Factor of Marinas

Among the most interesting aspects of the ICOMIA World Marinas Conference 2025 were the moments dedicated to increasing the attractiveness of marinas: it was emphasized, for example, that each marina, to give its best to its clients and to stand out from other marinas, should strive to fully develop not only its strengths but also its uniqueness. The strengths of our marina in Genoa are well known: boaters choose Marina Porto Antico because of the high level of protection offered by the Genoa breakwater and our concrete docks, for the very central location of the marina, right in the historic center, as well as for the opportunity to take advantage of the enormous range of boating services that our city can offer. In our marina in Genoa, therefore, it is easy to take care of both oneself and one’s boat, thanks to the proximity of restaurants, museums, supermarkets, nautical supply stores, shipyards, and craftsmen. The WOW factor of our tourist marina, however, can be another: we have indeed decided to pay increasing attention to the greenery of our marina, to make our marina more welcoming and beautiful. In the coming years, we will therefore devote time and energy to increasing natural spaces, with well-maintained flowerbeds, blooming corners, and green spaces, to make the arrival at the marina in Genoa even more stunning and pleasant.