22nd Biograd Boat Show opened

The 22nd International Nautical Fair Biograd Boat Show opened in Marina Kornati, organized and hosted by Ilirija d.d., in Biograd na Moru on Wednesday (October 21, 2020), as the largest nautical fair in Central Europe.

The character of the fair, with an exhibition of ships at sea, and exhibitors' stands on the piers and the area of ​​the third largest marina in Croatia, with beautiful weather, allowed to maintain the continuity of the event of great importance for Croatian nautical and tourism in general, while adhering to all epidemiological measures.

The fair was opened by Tonči Glavina, State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, in the presence of Siniša Orlić, Assistant Minister and Nina Perko, Director of the Maritime Administration, at the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy Dragan Kovačević, Zadar County Deputy Prefect Šime Mršić and guests, emphasizing the results achieved in Croatian tourism and nautical:

“Carefully and courageously, the Government and state institutions have built together with you from the real sector the image of Croatia as a safe destination, and planning the first in Europe in the era of "lockdown" opening to tourism, and nautical tourism was our trump card and competitive advantage. Thank you Nautical tourism as our most elite product will be our trump card in the next tourist year as well, and we are optimistic about it because of the exceptional EU funds from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism that are available to us, and for which I ask you to now you are preparing programs ", said Glavina, declaring the fair open, thanking Illyria for her care and courage

President of the management of the host and organizer of the fair Ilirija d.d., Goran Ražnjević, reminded of the role of Illyria as the founder of nautical tourism, because 44 years ago it was the first to build a nautical tourism port, with its own charter fleet of 40 vessels, which made Biograd na Moru the cradle of nautical tourism, and pointed out:

"In the moments when many fairs failed to survive on the market, Biograd Boat Show continued its continuity of maintenance and development relying on its own capacities, knowledge, tradition and infrastructure of Illyria as an organizer. Holding this year's fair shows the resilience of the nautical industry. business hours and confirms our ability to develop quality in difficult challenges ", said Ražnjević, thanking the exhibitors, visitors and all supporting institutions, especially the Croatian Chamber of Economy, which, recognizing the strength and importance of the fair, for four years in B2B organizes HGK Nautical Days turned the Biograd Boat Show into a congress of the Croatian nautical industry.

The participants of the opening, accompanied by the hosts, then visited the fair, which was extended by one day due to the pandemic and lasts until Sunday, October 25. With 240 exhibitors, last year's record number of vessels was almost equal, and the number of larger vessels up to 20 meters was increased.

Boat lovers enjoyed the Croatian premieres because the luxury brand Fairline has the premiere of its motor yacht "Targa 45 GT", the Italian brand Absolute of the latest model "Absolute 47 Fly". The premiere exhibitions also include: catamarans Excess 12 and ELBA 45, and luxury sailing boats First 53 Yacht, Terra Nauta 28, Merry Fisher 795 Serie 2, Saxdor 200 Sport and Rand Mana 23.

The response of international and domestic exhibitors and guests of the BBS is due to the traditional hospitable atmosphere of Biograd, and is therefore recognized among the 36 world ports of the International Association of Organizers of Nautical Fairs, of which it is a golden member.

As part of the "B2B" Croatian Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the 4th HGK Nautical Days, this congress program was expanded to three days (from 21 to 23 October), and the first panel discussion was organized "Nautical tourism with measures for recovery and resilience a key Croatian tourist product? ”. Sessions of marina associations, small shipbuilding, boat service providers, tourist shipowners, and the Diving Tourism Association, ie all representatives of the real sector of the nautical industry and tourism, have started and continue.

By the way, the B2B platform for business networking of the nautical sector, as a long-term special feature of the BBS, has a more prominent significance this year than ever, especially strongly in the segment of video contacts and meetings.

Croatia Charter Expo is also of great importance as a part of Biograd B2B, because Croatia has the strongest charter fleet, which makes up 40% of the world's fleet. Here, charter companies are also allowed to present on their own vessels, and the charter companies present have a fleet of over 1,600 yachts.

Thus, thanks to the support of national and county structures and the City of Biograd na Moru, and continued cooperation with the Croatian Chamber of Economy and the Croatian Tourist Board, with the teamwork and efforts of professional services of Ilirija dd, despite the global pandemic, it is possible to maintain continuity of events. nautical tourism, as the most competitive and highest quality form of Croatian tourist offer.

Ultimately, all this is in preparation and hope, which was underlined by the President of the Board of Ilirija d.d., Goran Ražnjević, at the opening of the fair:

"I believe that the Biograd Boat Show program will accelerate networking, information exchange and connecting business carriers, thus facilitating the preparation of a complex business year 2021."