The 2018 ICOMIA World Marinas Conference (IWMC) is set to take place from 25-27 October and will be held at the impressive Renzo Piano-designed Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center in Athens, Greece; new home of the Greek National Opera and Greek National Library.
Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center
Hosted by the Greek Marinas Association (GMA), the focus for this year’s event is “Cross Sea Challenges for Marinas: Setting the scene for collective development and growth” with topics including updates on key world markets, new international regulations, trends, marketing and training. The three-day agenda also includes a guided visit to marinas in Athens. The IWMC brings together industry leaders and a wide range of marina operators, public authority officials and service providers creating an excellent delegate networking opportunity.
TransEurope Marinas President Jean-Michel Gaigné once again plays a significant role as moderator, presenting speakers discussing subjects from oil pollution management and port maritime security to some of the various aspects of marina marketing.
Chairman of the Italian Marine Industry Association and having just completed his term as President of the ICOMIA Marinas Group, Dr. Roberto Perocchio, will be moderating two topics on the first day of the conference. He emphasised the value of participants’ input at the event, given the nature of the some of the issues facing marina operators today:
“During the conference, discussion generated among experts and audience about the changing habits of marina customers is going to be extremely important in order to better understand the future of this area of the sector. There are several questions that require our attention, such as:
· Will a growing “sharing economy”, where the charter market is developing faster than boat sales to single buyers, mean more or less marina occupation?
· Will marinas be more dependent on charter companies and how can they better satisfy their needs
· How quickly is the “peer to peer” boat rental really spreading among the consumers thanks to specialised websites?
· Is this a functional way to help the boat owners to pay the boat maintenance and the mooring fees
· What kind of boats will owners and charter companies wish to buy in future? Are we ready to contend with the advent of fully electric boats, hybrid boats, and even hydrogen boats like “Energy Observer”, a catamaran built in France according to the latest “fuel cell” technology?”
He urges industry professionals to join the World Marinas Conference and benefit from the wealth of experience and information offered by the event, in order to be better prepared for changing trends and future developments.
Register today at www.worldmarinasconference.com
