Cannes Yachting Festival 2026 puts slow boating in focus

The Cannes Yachting Festival will dedicate its 49th edition, running from 8 to 13 September 2026 across the Vieux Port and Port Canto, to a single cross-cutting theme: slow boating, meaning cruising in short legs, with more time spent in coastal areas and closer attention to the marine environment. The approach translates into boats that prioritise onboard comfort and ease of handling, and into a style of travel built around pace, choice of route and restraint.

"Slow boating answers a very concrete expectation: giving time and space back to the sea passage and to the places it crosses. The boats, like the network of marinas and destinations present this year, show that the journey and the stopovers are an essential part of the boating experience, encouraging navigation that is more informed, more local and more attentive to marine environments," says Constance Brément, Director of the Cannes Yachting Festival.

The organisers cite two surveys. A 2023 study by the French Fédération des Industries Nautiques reports that 72% of the boat users interviewed want to slow their cruising pace, 65% want to cut fuel consumption and 58% say they are bored by fixed itineraries. Booking.com research covering more than 27,000 respondents in 33 countries finds that 67% of travellers would like to discover less-frequented routes and immersive experiences.

On the infrastructure side, the show hosts marina networks, port operators and nautical destinations: Barbados, Catalonia, D-Marin, Sardinia and Tunisia. According to the press release, a dense web of stopovers allows boat owners to favour coastal cruising, adjust legs to the weather and cut routine engine use; organised marinas can also spread traffic more evenly and limit anchoring in sensitive areas.

Among the port-sector exhibitors, the Associació Catalana de Ports Esportius i Turístics (JETEE 124) covers 580 km of coast between Cases d'Alcanar and Portbou with almost 50 marinas. D-Marin (JETEE 154), founded in 2003, runs 28 marinas across 9 countries in the Mediterranean and Gulf basins with more than 14,300 berths, and has introduced wash-water recovery and antifouling treatment systems. The Associazione Rete Porti Sardegna (PALAIS 053) links 29 facilities and over 8,300 berths. Marina Baie des Anges, operated by Maribay Infrastructures Management (PALAIS 050) between Nice and Antibes, has 515 berths for boats from 5.50 to 35 metres and is the subject of a 63 million euro investment programme. The Tunisian National Tourist Office (PALAIS 041) brings 7 marinas spread over more than 1,300 km of coast, while the Vieux Port marina in Cannes (PAN 125) is one of 24 marinas in 14 countries managed by IGY Marinas.

Among the boats cited as examples of the trend, Jeanneau's Sea Loft 480 (POWER 050) derives from the "Island Cruising" prototype developed for the Beneteau Group: it is neither a monohull nor a catamaran; in hybrid form it is credited with 250 nautical miles of range at 7 knots, and 15 miles in full electric mode, with 4.2 kW of solar panels and charging while moored. The Oasis Meu Amor by Caelum 1029 (PALAIS 063) is a two-level floating house for four people, powered by solar batteries, with a hot tub on the foredeck. The Aventura 37 Explorer by Aventura Yachts (PAN 058) is a trawler catamaran measuring 11.60 metres in length and 5.94 metres in beam, with more than 80 units built on its original platform.

The 2026 edition will gather more than 680 exhibitors and a fleet of 700 boats from 5 to 50 metres, including yachts, sailing boats, monohulls, multihulls, day cruisers, trawlers and RIBs, with over 150 world premieres. Opening hours are 10:00 to 19:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10:00 to 22:00 on Friday with a late opening, and 10:00 to 18:00 on Sunday.

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