European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, will participate in the 2021 International Breakfast Meeting on 20 April. He and other high-level panellists from business and politics will discuss the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on the recreational boating industry, recovery, new trends and opportunities.

The full agenda for the 2021 International Breakfast Meeting, organised by boot Düsseldorf and European Boating Industry, has now been released. The event, which will exceptionally be held online, will offer industry and journalists the opportunity to exchange information on the latest market trends, regulations and innovation, as well as to develop new contacts and networks.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, will participate at the event by video message. The Commissioner is responsible for the blue economy, including nautical tourism, the circular economy, as well as contributing to the implementation of the European Green Deal. This is the first time a European Commissioner participates at the International Breakfast Meeting, showing the increasing importance of the event and interest from the EU institutions.

Other speakers include Petros Michelidakis (Director of boot Düsseldorf), Ismail Ertug (Member of the European Parliament), Amelie Cesar and Natascha Zwenke (Jade University of Applied Sciences Wilhelmshaven, who led a study into the impact of Covid-19 on the boating industry), Lyublena Dimova (Research Manager at the European Travel Commission) and Gianguido Girotti (Deputy CEO of Groupe Bénéteau). The event will be moderated by Philip Easthill (Secretary-General of EBI).

The theme of this year’s edition will be “A Corona reboot of tourism and recreation – What future for boating?”. The event will include the presentation of a study on the impact of Covid-19 on the industry and the industry’s outlook. In addition, discussions will focus on new trends in travel and tourism, the future EU tourism strategy, and how to build momentum for boating in 2021 and beyond. The 2021 International Breakfast Meeting will take place on 20 April from 10:00 to 11:45 (CEST).

Further information about the International Breakfast Meeting is available here. The registration form can be found here.