One week before the Cannes Yachting Festival, Sylvie Ernoult, the general commissioner of this year's nautical event, answers BoatIndustry's questions about its organization and its evolution.
What are the main trends in the exhibitor profile for the Cannes Yachting Festival 2018?
For starters, there are more and more exhibitors. We're up from 528 companies last year to 542 this year. And what's important is that we're keeping the one-third share of new exhibitors. It is important for us to always leave room for newcomers. This allows us to keep up with developments in the nautical industry, in areas such as foils with Princess, Enata or Seair, or Rainboat with electric motors. We leave space for small structures while keeping the big exhibitors. All the big names in the world of boating between 5 and 50 meters are there. Sailing also remains very present and catamarans continue to grow.
What communication actions have you taken? Which visitor profile are you targeting?
There is no radical change. We have continued our international communication, with more and more actions towards the lifestyle media to widen the field of people reached. We are opening up to important generalist media, which consolidates the show's place in the world yachting landscape.
What are the developments in the exhibition spaces?
The toys, which attract many visitors, have all been moved to Port Canto, in order to prepare for the developments to come in 2019 which will be unveiled at the opening of the 2018 edition. We are developing access to Port Canto and continue to expand the luxury gallery, reserved for luxury products outside of boating, at the request of customers.
What is the pricing policy for exhibitors at the show?
As has been the case for several years, the rate per square meter is maintained, keeping pace with inflation. This is a choice, and I am happy with it, despite a greater demand that would allow us to increase prices. It is a reasonable and coherent policy in relation to our positioning with respect to other boat shows.
Are there any changes in the organization of the sea trials?
We are trying to normalize things with the objective of making the operation safer and more fluid. From now on, there will be fixed opening hours for the ferry, which the boats will have to attend. This will prevent them from waiting and congregating in a situation that could be risky. In addition, the equipment has been reinforced and the operators trained to avoid breakdowns like the one encountered last year (editor's note: which led to the closure to traffic for over half a day)
