Sardinia Boat Show: the island's marine industry fair moves from Porto Rotondo to Olbia

After its editions in Porto Rotondo, Sardinia's boat fair is changing its name, its venue and its place in the calendar. The Fiera Nautica di Sardegna becomes the Sardinia Boat Show and moves to Olbia, where the next edition will be held from 29 May to 6 June 2027 at Olbia Waterfront – Porto Vecchio, in the town centre. Cipnes Gallura presented the project on 2 October at the Genoa International Boat Show, together with the Sardinia Region, the Municipality of Olbia, the Port System Authority of the Sea of Sardinia and representatives of the Sassari and Ogliastra industrial consortia.

The show remains focused on the island's marine industry, with boatbuilding and production on one side and refit, repair and maintenance on the other, along with related industrial activities and services. According to the organisers, the new venue offers more space on land and on the water and can host boats of different sizes, including superyachts.

Exports and foreign investment

The fair is one of the tools of Sardinia's regional plan for the internationalisation of its marine industry, which also includes coordinated participation in the sector's main international events. The plan has two aims: supporting exports by Sardinian boatbuilders and suppliers, and attracting foreign direct investment through new production sites and industrial partnerships. Having taken the Sistema Sardegna to international shows, the organisers now want the Sardinia Boat Show to work the other way round, bringing foreign operators, companies and investors to the island to see its businesses, infrastructure and production areas first-hand.

One area will be reserved for companies with a registered or operating office in Sardinia working in boatbuilding, refit and related activities; another will be set aside for international investors and operators looking at production opportunities on the island. The industrial consortia and the Port System Authority will also be present, with spaces presenting production areas, port infrastructure and sites available for new businesses. Gallura, Cagliari, Ogliastra and the Sassari area, described as the main centres of the Sardinian marine industry, will be presented to visitors as parts of a single regional system. On the training side, UniOlbia and the University of Cagliari will promote the university courses developed in Olbia in naval engineering and the vocational degree in electrical and aeronautical industrial technologies.

The dates and the New York flights

The new slot is tied to air links. Olbia has direct flights to several foreign markets, in particular France and the United States. A second direct route to New York will be added in 2027 to the one launched in 2026, and both will be operating from the end of May, before the show opens. The dates also coincide with the start of Sardinia's boating and tourist season.

What they said

"With the Sardinia Boat Show, the Fiera Nautica di Sardegna enters a new phase," said Livio Fideli, president of Cipnes Gallura. "We want to build a major international showcase for the Sardinian marine industry, able to represent the whole island and every part of its production chain. At its centre will be boatbuilding, refit and repair, but also all the industrial activities and services that revolve around boating. The new venue in Olbia allows us to increase the space, host boats of different sizes and create better conditions for companies, operators and investors to meet. The fair must be a concrete tool for Sardinia's industrial development and internationalisation."

"Boating is one of the sectors with the greatest growth potential for Sardinia, where there are already companies, skills and high-level professionals. It is a supply chain that spans manufacturing, services and innovation, with a strong focus on international markets," said Giuseppe Meloni, vice-president and regional minister for Planning and Budget of the Sardinia Region. "As a Region we are working on two fronts: supporting Sardinian companies that want to grow abroad as well, and making Sardinia more attractive for those who want to invest and produce on the island. That is why we attend the main trade fairs in the sector, in Italy and beyond national borders, and also support the Fiera Nautica della Sardegna. We have the conditions to give further impetus to this sector and increase its weight in the regional economy, in exports and in skilled employment. Boating can become an increasingly significant part of an innovative and competitive Sardinian economy."

"The decision to bring the fair to Olbia also stems from a request from the production system," said Antonio Loriga, vice-president of Cipnes Gallura. "Companies need an event able to offer adequate space for boatbuilding and refit, including for large vessels, but above all an increasingly international showcase. That is why we chose not only a new venue but also a new time of year. Between the end of May and the beginning of June all of Olbia's main international connections will be fully operational and, in 2027, the two direct flights to New York will already be running. This makes it much easier for foreign operators, buyers and investors to take part and gives Sardinian exhibitors an even greater capacity for international relations. The Sardinia Boat Show must be the home of Sardinia's entire marine industry and a concrete tool to take it to global markets."

"The decision to host the next edition of the Fiera Nautica di Sardegna in Olbia, which takes up the important legacy built in Porto Rotondo, looks with even greater determination to the future of the island's entire maritime economy," said Domenico Bagalà, president of the Port System Authority of the Sea of Sardinia. "The Port System Authority firmly supports this project, because Olbia, with its port, its seafront and an airport connected to the world, has what it takes to consolidate the national and international profile of the event. The new venue also strengthens the link between port and city, opening the waterfront not only to cultural and sporting events but also to new opportunities for companies, residents and visitors to meet. The boating industry we are all looking at with interest is not just tourism: it is shipbuilding, innovation, advanced services and skilled employment. A sector that, in Olbia itself, has one of its centres of excellence in the Mediterranean. The Authority's aim is to create the conditions for this production base to keep growing through targeted infrastructure investment, actions to stimulate the market at international fairs and ever closer integration between port and territory. Last but not least, firm support for specialist training aimed at building, locally, all the skills the supply chain needs and at giving young people a real chance to stay and grow on their own island."

"The Fiera Nautica di Sardegna has grown year after year, becoming a reference event for the whole sector and a valuable opportunity to promote our territory," said the mayor of Olbia, Settimo Nizzi. "From 2027 the event will find its home on Olbia's new waterfront: a central, modern space fully in line with the way the city is evolving. Porto Rotondo has hosted the previous editions with great quality and professionalism, contributing decisively to the success of the fair. Today we are taking a further step, choosing a location that allows us to broaden what is on offer, improve accessibility and integrate the fair into the heart of the city, where we are investing heavily to build an increasingly competitive boating and tourism hub. We are eagerly looking forward to welcoming exhibitors, professionals and visitors in a setting that combines innovation, services and a clear vision of the future."

Simona Fois, president of the Consorzio Industriale Provinciale di Sassari, said: "Porto Torres can play an increasingly strategic role in the development of boating and shipbuilding in Sardinia, thanks to the availability of large port-side areas with infrastructure in place and the characteristics of the port. CIPSS taking part, for the first time, in an event of this importance devoted to these themes is an important sign of the stage of evolution the Consortium is going through, with planning increasingly oriented towards new production sectors and new development opportunities. We want to contribute to this process by making our logistical and industrial potential available, within planning shared with the Region and with the system of Sardinian industrial consortia. The goal is to build a widespread supply chain, able to make the most of the specific features of each area and strengthen the competitiveness of the entire regional industrial system."

Marcello Ladu, president of the Consorzio Industriale Provinciale dell'Ogliastra, said: "Our participation in Genoa accompanies the growth of boating in Arbatax and serves to present the port, the production areas and the skills of the companies based there to operators. Our task is to bring these resources into contact with the market, identify potential investors and understand which services and infrastructure need strengthening. Sharing the stand with CIPNES, after the experience of the 2026 Sardinia boat fair, gives continuity to a collaboration between territories with complementary opportunities. The value of this presence will be measured by the work done after the show, following up on contacts and creating concrete opportunities for companies."

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