Cancellation of the autumn boat shows: threat to the boating industry
The subject was at the heart of the press conference of the Federation of Nautical Industries (FIN): the cancellation of the Cannes and La Rochelle boat shows and the holding of the future Nautic de Paris. The importance of these events for the sector is an observation shared by all. Stéphan Constance, vice-president of the FIN, recalls their role. "Autumn shows account for 70% of sales, between sales origination and spot contracts at the show. The industry can survive these cancellations, but it is still a threat that adds to the clouds that are gathering over it."
In a distinction between the cancellation of the Grand Pavois de La Rochelle qualified as "inevitable" and that of the Cannes Yachting Festival summarized as a "mess", the FIN accuses Reed Expo, organizer of the Cannes event, while ensuring however to be careful not to "add to the controversy" started since the end of August 2020. (Editor's note: the Federation of Nautical Industries and Reed Expo are in legal proceedings for the organisation of the Cannes Yachting Festival).
The Nautic, next bitter of the 2020 season
The FIN, organizer of the Nautic de Paris, is betting on its show to give new impetus to the sector. "In this context, the good holding of the Paris boat show is very important. It could be the only one of the year in 2020. It's not simple, but it's not inaccessible either," insists Yves Lyon-Caen, president of the FIN. 3 lines of work on the subject (identical to those demanded by the shows cancelled in September) are listed: sharing constraints and possibilities by working in partnership with the authorities before the show, considering each hall as a separate site with its own gauge, tracking the movements and number of visitors in real time.
A high-level meeting with the State is announced for 25 September, before a final decision on 5 or 6 October. The share of trade fair revenues in the FIN's budgets makes this subject particularly important. Asked about the impact of the loss of the royalties paid by Reed Expo for holding the Cannes Yachting Festival, Stephan Constance recalls that these scenarios have been "worked out and anticipated"
Few industrial prospects
Projection work is proving difficult for FIN. "The exercise is difficult on the scale of the hazards that weigh on the environment. With the cancellation of the trade fairs, we have lost the benchmarks that are used to anticipate industrial production volumes," explains its chairman. The phenomena of changes in the practice of sailing and "movement towards the sea" following Covid are difficult to quantify for the moment, while the crisis in tourism is impacting the boat hire and long-distance charter sectors. Hypotheses of a 20 to 30% drop in activity are nevertheless evoked.
Anticipating the effects on employment seems premature to the Chairman of FIN. Its vice-president, Stéphan Constance, recalls the precedent of 2008 during which the 50% drop in activity fortunately did not have proportionate consequences in terms of redundancies. Temporary employment has already served as a shock absorber for companies during the crisis in the spring.
Faced with this, the association does not propose concrete actions at this stage. Only the national economic recovery plan is mentioned, through long-term partial unemployment and measures to support sustainable development and innovation. "Its impact is unlikely to be significant in the short term. 2021 has already been written," Yves Lyon-Caen nevertheless fears.
