Working as a system, looking beyond the berths of one’s own marina to identify and share the best practices of the best Italian marinas; learning to present a united front when facing the challenges of yachting destinations, to build effective destination strategies together for both marinas and the territory; finally, having access to the most important tools to finance the growth of the marina, so as to improve the offering year after year.
In these March days, several meetings are helping to outline the development directions for tomorrow’s marinas, and our Genoa marina is proud to be among the protagonists of these valuable moments of growth and exchange.
We are specifically referring to the presentation event of “Marine d’Italia“, held on March 10 in Rosignano Marittimo, the seminar “Management and organizational and operational aspects of marinas” hosted on March 12 by the Tuscany Yachting Week event, and finally the “Blue Finance Meeting“, the “speed date” format event between marinas and financial operators, scheduled for March 26 in Rome.
Marine d’Italia, the project that brings together marinas and relaunches Italy as a destination for nautical tourism
The first of the events in which our Genoa marina was proud to participate as a protagonist was the presentation of “Marine d’Italia”, on March 10 at the Marina Cala de’ Medici marina, just south of Castiglioncello. This unprecedented network of marinas (and regional marina networks) aims to promote the Italian marina system in a unified manner on an international scale, with a clear promotional focus and commitment to quality. In addition to Tuscany, which with Marina Cala dei Medici CEO Matteo Italo Ratti acted as host, the newly formed project already counts on the participation of marinas from Sardinia, Veneto, Sicily, Puglia and Liguria, with Marina Porto Antico among the founding members of this unifying and proactive designation.
Marine d’Italia aims to strengthen the operational, commercial, and organizational capacity of Italian marinas at an international level, to best present Italy as a whole as an ideal destination for nautical tourism. It is well known that to compete effectively with the Côte d’Azur, the Balearic Islands, Greece and other Mediterranean destinations, it is necessary to act on multiple fronts: with this new network it will be possible to share best practices and indeed actively collaborate to raise quality standards.
This is therefore not a trade union entity, nor a platform that intends to replace individual or local identities: rather, it is an alliance that provides common tools, enhancing the potential of individual territories and of Italy as a whole. As emphasized by Marina Porto Antico President Andrea Barbagelata during the meeting, abroad there are interesting examples to draw inspiration from: in Scotland, marinas have for example established partnerships not only with other marinas, not only with charter companies, but also with whisky companies: “they cannot showcase sunshine and beaches, so they rightly promote what they have available: can we not perhaps take their example, given that we have the charm of Mediterranean coasts and the sun?”
As Marina Porto Antico, we are therefore pleased to be founding members of this network of quality marinas, a step that is fully consistent with our philosophy, which has always driven us toward promoting the territory, both Ligurian and national. We also believe that presenting Italy as a widespread destination for yachts and superyachts can be valuable in supporting the deseasonalization of tourism, thus bringing clients to Italian marinas even during traditionally quieter periods; and there is certainly no need to emphasize how a better distribution of flows outside the traditional seasons can lead to positive effects on the entire territory.
The Management and organizational and operational aspects of marinas seminar during Tuscany Yachting Week
Among industry professionals, Tuscany Yachting Week certainly needs no introduction: it is an intensive series of professional events dedicated to the yachting industry in the Mediterranean, now in its fourth edition this year. This year’s format also included a seminar dedicated to the management of Yachting Destinations, with the participation of Andrea Barbagelata representing our Genoa marina alongside nationally prominent colleagues. Before a very large audience, including students planning to launch a professional career in the nautical sector, the main topics concerning the management of marinas, the development of tomorrow’s marinas and the main challenges that modern marinas must face were addressed.
The Marina Porto Antico president’s presentation first focused on the relationship between a marina like Marina Porto Antico, built within a major city, and the urban center itself, highlighting the services and opportunities that the marina can offer to Genoa, representing a privileged gateway to the city. But this is not a place exclusively dedicated to boaters: as Barbagelata emphasized, Marina Porto Antico is also a pleasant place for Genoese residents to visit, creating perfect continuity and integration between sea and land.
The seminar was also an opportunity to recall how our marina’s experience in the center of Genoa represents an intelligent and responsible way to develop tourist marinas by recovering abandoned urban areas, creating new services for the territory without increasing coastal development. Barbagelata’s presentation concluded with the presentation of the marina’s recent technological developments, ranging from the implementation of smart pedestals on the dock and electric car charging systems to the continuous maintenance plan, demonstrating how a facility that is now 20 years old can and must keep pace with the new services offered to boaters.
Blue Finance Meeting: speed dates between marinas and financial operators
The third and final event of this month rich in meetings to foster synergy and growth of Italian marinas will take place in a few days. Organized by Andrea Barbagelata in his capacity as vice president of Assomarinas (the Italian Marina Association active since 1972 and affiliated with Federturismo Confindustria), the first Blue Finance Meeting will be held in Rome on March 26. The objective is to connect Italian marinas with the most important financial operators, in the awareness that to continue offering cutting-edge services, for extraordinary maintenance as well as to expand operations, marinas often need access to financing and other tools provided by the credit sector.
To enable Assomarinas members to meet a wide number of operators from the financial world, the format chosen for the Rome meeting is the speed date, with quick meetings and exchanges of contacts.