The Marche Region: The region of the luxury yachts
by Marche Yachting & Cruising Association 29 Nov 2023 22:46 PST
The Marche Region © Marche Yachting and Cruising Association
The picture of the boating industry in the Marche Region in Ancona at the third Super Yacht 24 Forum, organised by the Marche Yachting and Cruising Association in cooperation with the Port System Authority of the Central Adriatic Sea.
With 200 companies, more than 3 thousand direct workers and more than 10 thousand indirect workers the fourth region in Italy for the ship and boat industry.
With over 200 companies and 3,309 employees, the Marche Region is among the leading Regions in Italy for ship and boat building. The turnover of this industry exceeded 1 billion euro in 2022, driven mainly by exports that account for over 90% of sales, mostly outside the EU. The snapshot of the sector was presented this morning at the event "The Marche Region: the Region of the luxury ships", held at the "Ridotto delle Muse" theater in Ancona during the third Forum of Super Yacht 24, an on-line newspaper specialising in the nautical sector, organised by the Marche Yachting and Cruising Association in cooperation with the Port System Authority of the Central Adriatic Sea.
The research 'The yachting & cruising cluster in the Marche Region' by the working group of Professor Donato Iacobucci's Università Politecnica delle Marche with the Marche Yachting and Cruising Association, illustrated by researcher Valentina Giannini, was presented. In terms of the number of directly employed people, Marche is the fourth Region in Italy, with 11.3% of the over 31 thousand employees nationwide. The work rate, however, rises considerably with the number of people employed in the sector's allied industries exceeding 10 thousand. The pleasure boating industry in the Marche covers the yacht and explorer segment for 17%, 67% concerns other products. Production specialisation is divided between large luxury yachts (20-40 metres), super yachts (40-80 metres), maintenance and refitting. The Univpm research shows that the industry's value chain largely involves the economy of the Marche Region: 80% of production activities are outsourced to external partners, outsourcing is distributed to suppliers mainly located in Italy and in the Marche Region.
Four challenges awaiting the sector were at the centre of the debate, with a full hall at the Ridotto, coordinated by Nicola Capuzzo, Founder and Director of Super Yacht24. The first theme is innovation, which has seen, in the 2014-2020 European programming period, the cluster's enterprises play a leading role in 30 research projects carried out through regional calls for tenders with a total investment of €19 million, of which €9 million in private resources. Another challenge concerns the focus on quality and sustainability, with the cluster always paying attention to these factors. Fundamental to the growth of yachting and cruising are human resources and training as well as the need for new spaces for yachting in the Region.
Another important value recalled by the MSA Yacht Company is EUR 6,397, which represents the total direct economic impact equivalent for daily presence of yachts from 35 to 50 metres, and which ties in perfectly with the request to have more pleasure boat moorings in the Marche Region.
As Mr Minossi says: "The Marche Yachting and Cruising Association was set up two years ago with the aim of giving the sector a unified voice in dialogue with the Institutions and unifying efforts on training and attracting talent; having the Port Authority and the Marche Polytechnic University as associates helps us a great deal in these directions and is also an acknowledgement of the sector's desire to improve. Events like these are moments of broad sharing that help all parties to plan the next initiatives".
"A great day for the Marche Region, which allows us to increase awareness and knowledge of the economic and social value of pleasure boating and its development potential, with spin-offs also in tourism," said Vincenzo Garofalo, President of the Central Adriatic Sea Port System Authority. Today's event is an important opportunity to discuss, each according to their own responsibilities.
Among the strategies for the sector, there is certainly that of greater attention from the institutions. We, for one, are looking at the boating industry as a valuable calling card for the Marche Region, an excellence and a job opportunity for many people, to which we must allocate adequate space for the growth that has developed rapidly. We have included this objective in the Port System Strategic Programming Document and we will continue to work on the Port Regulatory Plans, to give a positive response to operators".
Daniele Silvetti, Mayor of the Municipality of Ancona, Rear-Admiral Donato De Carolis, Maritime Director of the Marche Region, Gino Sabatini, President of the Marche Chamber of Commerce, and Andrea Maria Antonini, Councillor for Production Activities of the Marche Region, contributed to the initiative 'Le Marche: The Region of Luxury Ships'.
In a round table, the voice of the shipyards that are members of the Marche Yachting and Cruising Association, of which Univpm and Adsp are also members, was heard.