The Greek Marinas Association (GMA) has been announced as host of the 2018 ICOMIA World Marinas Conference (IWMC) during the meeting of the ICOMIA Marinas Group in Vancouver, Canada on 14 October. The world-renowned travelling Conference will be held 25 – 27 October 2018 in Athens, Greece.
The leading light in ensuring successful future developments of marina facilities around the globe, the International Council of Marine Industry Associations’ (ICOMIA) World Marinas Conference is the key initiative of the ICOMIA Marina Group’s Outreach and Support Programme. IWMC is aimed at marina owners, operators, developers, consultants, service providers, Government officials, equipment manufacturers, nautical tourism promoters, and port and harbour operators and draws hundreds of delegates and speakers from around the globe.
IWMC is presented by the ICOMIA Marinas Group (IMG), the committee born out of ICOMIA`s recognition that ensuring boat owners a safe and convenient place to berth, moor or launch their boat is vital to the future of the industry.
An active and prominent member of IMG since 2011, GMA was established in 2010 in order to represent, upgrade and promote the tourist ports and marina facilities throughout Greece. Its membership includes 77% of the total regional berthing capacity, and includes both public and private members all of which are well organised marinas focusing on quality, safety and customer satisfaction. Stavros Katsikadis, president of the GMA highlighted the importance of this win for Greek marinas and the city of Athens: "I'm confident IWMC 2018 will be a high-performing, world class event. Delegates will benefit from quality content and the expertise of the exceptional international speakers IWMC attracts. Athens promises to them an unforgettable experience".
Roberto Perocchio, IMG Chairman, praised the GMA win: "The Greek coast is one of the most beautiful cruising grounds of the world for nautical tourism, and the international community of marina operators will now gather there in 2018 to discuss global trends and be inspired by the new marina investments that can be developed in this country thanks to privatisation programmes, urban waterfront rejuvenation projects and increased importance of tourism economy”. Perocchio added, “The Mayor of Athens has expressed his full support of IWMC 2018, as have other local and national authorities – this confirms the leading role that Greece plays at an international level in the field of yachting facilities and services".
The decision to award GMA the bid was made during IMG’s autumn meeting, held 12-14 October 2017 in Vancouver, Canada, which 13 IMG members attended and included a tour of 10 marinas on the west coast of Canada. Hosted by Sara Anghel, Executive Director of NMMA Canada, the Group saw marinas suitable for sailboats, smaller power boats and large yachts. “NMMA Canada was honoured and pleased to have the opportunity to host the IMG meeting in Canada. The recreational boating industry in Canada is worth $10 billion CDN in revenues and $5.6 billion in GDP impact. There are nearly 1500 marinas in Canada and almost half of Canada’s population goes boating each year.”
The IWMC series is highly informative and relevant to global market trends, whilst the extensive networking opportunities are invaluable for on-going business success and the vast array of exhibits offer insight into the very latest in marina product development and technology. More information on the programme for 2018, sponsorship opportunities and delegate registration will be announced in due course.
