Salone Nautico Genoa 2026 Recap: 138,273 Visitors After the Move to October

October 1-6, 2026 | Waterfront di Levante, Genoa, Italy | Over 1,000 boats, exhibitors from 45 countries | 138,273 visitors (+11.3% on 2025's 124,248) | 215 new products, over 4,600 sea trials, 1,287 accredited journalists | 580 B2B meetings for the inbound buyer program | Next: September 30 - October 5, 2027, Genoa

The 66th Genoa International Boat Show (Salone Nautico Internazionale) closed on Tuesday, October 6, with 138,273 visitors, according to organizer Confindustria Nautica, the Italian marine industry association. That is 11.3% more than the 124,248 visitors it recorded in 2025. This year it was held in October rather than late September: the 2025 show ran September 18-23.

The visitor figure is a clear rise, but the base it is measured against was a disrupted one. At the close of the 2025 show, Confindustria Nautica president Piero Formenti blamed two days of strikes, one of them a transport strike, and an orange weather alert for slowing arrivals, and said that without them attendance would have been close to 130,000, as reported by Il Sole 24 Ore. Some of the 2026 gain is therefore recovery from a weak 2025, and some may be the new dates. The organizer's figures do not separate the two. Also note that Confindustria Nautica reports visitors as a single total, with no split between trade and public visitors, and its closing releases give no exhibitor count for either year. Its online 2026 exhibitor list showed 785 company entries when TradeShowBuzz checked it on October 12; a directory listing is not the same as an audited exhibitor count.

The more useful story for exhibitors is in the mix. The organizer reported more space on the water, larger yachts at the top of each segment, a new high-end area for yachts over 24 meters, and an inbound program of international buyers and journalists that the organizer says doubled. All of this happened while the industry's own data shows Italy's small-boat segment contracting for a second year.

The Move to October, Edition on Edition

Confindustria Nautica moved the show from its late-September slot to October 1-6. Formenti told Il Sole 24 Ore that the change was made because companies asked for it, and the organizer's closing release says the results "confirm the merits" of the October dates. The 2027 edition keeps them: September 30 - October 5.

Here is how the organizer's own headline figures compare across the two closing releases:

• Visitors: 138,273, against 124,248 in 2025 (+11.3%).
• Boats and countries: over 1,000 boats and exhibitors from 45 countries in both years.
• New products: 215, against 123 in 2025. The 2025 figure included 96 premieres. The 2026 release gives no premiere count, so the two years are not fully like-for-like.
• Sea trials: over 4,600, against 4,050 in 2025.
• Accredited journalists: 1,287, against 1,245.
• Articles published: 6,207 in print and online, against 4,795.

Two figures in the releases cannot be compared. In 2025 the organizer counted 132 conferences and events; in 2026 it reported 90 "scientific forums and institutional debates", which may be a narrower definition. Social media views were 11,649,960 in 2026, measured between September 15 and October 6, against 2,508,458 in 2025 with no measurement window stated.

A Larger-Yacht Display Mix on More Water

The organizer's pre-show figures, published on September 15, describe where the space went. The in-water display area grew by 4%. Occupancy of the Yacht & Superyacht dock rose, and the average length of the three largest boats in each segment was 14.1% higher than in 2025. The number of multihulls on display rose by 28%.

The new feature at the top end was Living Made in Italy, an area on Quay H for Italian-built yachts over 24 meters, developed with the Italian Trade Agency (ICE). According to Confindustria Nautica, it drew yachts in the 35-50 meter range, with lounges and hospitality around the boats. In the organizer's own interpretation, the market has welcomed the return to October dates, and the new venue is "encouraging major players to return to Genoa"; its figures do not test either link. Formenti said after the show that the organizer wants to develop the area further.

Genoa Mayor Silvia Salis, speaking on opening day, put the show at 200,000 square meters of exhibition space. The organizer's releases do not give a comparable 2025 figure.

Blue Arena, Startups and the Design Awards

The other new area aimed at a different audience. Formenti said the Blue Arena was meant "to attract new audiences to the boating sector, starting with younger generations". The Blue Arena, in the newly completed Palasport Pavilion and funded by Confindustria Nautica and ICE, was free to enter. It combined a Start Boating area for small engines up to 25 hp and the D1 boating license for over-16s, a startups and innovation zone, training and careers with universities, a World Sailing area with the Italian Sailing Federation, and stands from the Italian Navy, the Coast Guard and the Guardia di Finanza. Formenti and the Mayor of Genoa both called it a success in the closing statements.

Eleven startups pitched on the Blue Pavilion Terrace at an event run with ICE: AI Cure, CarveLab, I-TES, System Technology Innovations, Y Digital, Zefmar, NeoEast, Volta Structural Energy, 4T4 Technology, Limenet and Velto. Their projects ranged from AI energy management for marinas and boats to mold-free hull production, structural batteries and microplastics monitoring.

The seventh Design Innovation Award drew more than 100 entries, up from about 40 in its first edition, according to the organizer. Winners included the Azimut Magellano 27M (superyachts over 24 m), the Cantiere del Pardo Grand Soleil 60 and Pardo GT65, the Cranchi A48 O/B, the Lagoon 47 multihull, the Sessa Key Largo 25, and Garmin's SmartDrive autopilot actuator in on-board electronics.

Orders, Buyers and TechTrade Days: What the Organizer Reports

Confindustria Nautica did not publish a value for orders taken at the show. Its closing release says only that exhibitor feedback points to shipyards "securing orders and signing contracts during the Show". Formenti told Il Sole 24 Ore that key superyacht contracts first negotiated at the Cannes and Monaco shows were finalized in Genoa. Treat both as the organizer's own account.

The verifiable change is the international buyer program. Before the show, ICE president Matteo Zoppas said the agency would raise the number of invited international buyers from 70 to 180, including importers, distributors and dealers as well as superyacht buyers, and contact more than 80 foreign journalists. That was a stated plan, not a final attendance count. At the close, Confindustria Nautica general manager Marina Stella said the inbound program had doubled the number of international buyers and journalists, from 35 countries, and generated 580 business meetings over the two days dedicated to B2B meetings. The organizer has not published a final buyer count.

TechTrade Days, the B2B program for equipment and components, returned for a second year on October 1-2 with more than 400 specialist brands, aimed at shipyards, designers, technical departments and purchasing managers.

The Market Behind the Show

The show opened on the back of the industry's own annual data, presented on September 30. Confindustria Nautica reported that Italian boating industry turnover reached a record €8.72 billion in 2025, up 1.4%. Boatbuilding production was €5.47 billion (+0.5%), and exports hit a record €4.4 billion (+2.6%), 90% of boatbuilding output. Italy took 568 superyacht orders, 52% of the global total, by the association's count.

The same report shows the split that matters for exhibitors. Inboard-powered boat production rose 1.3%, while outboard boats, inflatables and sailing boats contracted for a second consecutive year. Formenti described the small-boat segment at the opening conference as "marked by a wait-and-see approach" driven by geopolitical uncertainty, and called for measures on nautical leasing, tourism VAT and regulation.

After the show, Formenti told Il Sole 24 Ore that the 2026 figures put Genoa ahead of the Fort Lauderdale and Düsseldorf boat shows. That is the organizer's claim. Boat shows count attendance in different ways, and TradeShowBuzz has not compared them.

What It Means for Exhibitors

The organizer published presence figures, not results by exhibitor. There is no visitor profile, buyer-type breakdown, lead count or contract value, so the points below are what the evidence supports and the questions it leaves open.

The display mix shifted toward larger yachts. Dock occupancy, boat length at the top of each segment and the new Living Made in Italy area all point the same way. That shows a stronger large-yacht presence on the water, not proven demand or returns for those exhibitors. If you build or supply large yachts, ask the organizer what Living Made in Italy costs and who it hosted.

Small-boat exhibitors should ask harder questions. The industry's own data shows outboard, inflatable and sailing boat production down for a second year. Since no visitor profile is published, ask Confindustria Nautica what share of visitors and invited buyers came for boats under 10 meters before committing to a larger stand.

Ask how the buyer program works for 2027. ICE said the 2026 program would include importers, distributors and dealers, not only superyacht buyers. Ask which countries and buyer types will be invited in 2027, who is eligible to request meetings, and how the B2B days are scheduled.

Equipment and component suppliers have a dedicated B2B format. TechTrade Days targeted shipyards, designers, technical departments and purchasing managers. If you sell into shipyards rather than to boat buyers, ask the organizer how participation, placement and buyer access differ from a standard stand.

Check the 2027 sequence of yacht shows. Under its old September dates, Genoa fell between the Cannes Yachting Festival and the Monaco Yacht Show, as Il Sole 24 Ore noted. In 2026 it came after both, and the organizer has kept the same slot for 2027. If you exhibit at more than one of the three, check all three organizers' 2027 dates before planning boat logistics and staff.

By the Numbers

• 138,273 visitors, up 11.3% from 124,248 in 2025 (organizer figures; 2025 was affected by strikes and a weather alert, per the organizer)
• Over 1,000 boats on display, the same headline figure as 2025
• 45 exhibitor countries, the same as 2025 (no exhibitor count in the closing releases; 785 entries on the online 2026 exhibitor list, October 12)
• 215 new products, against 123 in 2025 (2025 included 96 premieres; no 2026 premiere count published)
• Over 4,600 sea trials, against 4,050 in 2025
• 1,287 accredited journalists, against 1,245 in 2025
• +4% in-water display area, and +14.1% average length of the three largest boats per segment, compared with 2025 (pre-show organizer figures)
• +28% multihulls on display (pre-show organizer figure)
• 580 B2B meetings for invited international buyers over two days
• Over 400 brands at TechTrade Days
• €8.72 billion Italian boating industry turnover in 2025, up 1.4% (Confindustria Nautica research)

When Is the Next Genoa International Boat Show?

The 67th Genoa International Boat Show will take place from September 30 to October 5, 2027, at the Waterfront di Levante in Genoa, Confindustria Nautica announced at the close of this year's show. Formenti said preparations have already begun and, referring to the Blue Arena and Living Made in Italy, that "We will start work immediately on both projects for 2027." Exhibitor applications are handled through the exhibitors' area on the show website.

Follow the show page for Salone Nautico Internazionale, and see Boot Düsseldorf in January for the next major European boat show. For another maritime event this autumn, read our SMM 2026 recap.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the Genoa International Boat Show 2026? The 66th Genoa International Boat Show (Salone Nautico Internazionale) took place from October 1 to 6, 2026, at the Waterfront di Levante in Genoa, Italy. The show was held in October rather than late September; the 2025 edition ran September 18-23.

How many people attended the Genoa Boat Show 2026? Organizer Confindustria Nautica recorded 138,273 visitors, an increase of 11.3% on the 124,248 visitors recorded in 2025. The organizer does not split the figure between trade and public visitors.

How many exhibitors were at the Genoa Boat Show 2026? Confindustria Nautica's closing releases give no exhibitor count. They report over 1,000 boats on display and exhibitors from 45 countries, the same headline figures as in 2025. The online 2026 exhibitor list showed 785 company entries when checked on October 12, 2026.

What was new at the Genoa Boat Show 2026? The main new features were Living Made in Italy, an area on Quay H for Italian-built yachts over 24 meters, and the Blue Arena, a free-entry area in the new Palasport Pavilion for newcomers, training, startups and sailing. The organizer also reported 215 new products and a 4% larger in-water display area.

Were deals signed at the Genoa Boat Show 2026? The organizer says shipyards secured orders and signed contracts during the show, but it has not published a total value. Its inbound program for international buyers produced 580 business meetings over two days.

How did the Italian boating market look going into the 2026 show? Confindustria Nautica reported record industry turnover of €8.72 billion in 2025, up 1.4%, and record exports of €4.4 billion. Production of outboard boats, inflatables and sailing boats contracted for a second consecutive year.

When is the next Genoa International Boat Show? The 67th edition will take place from September 30 to October 5, 2027, in Genoa, Italy.