Participants had the change to discuss ways to overcome the seasonality and see the number of ships and passengers cruising in winter months to continue to grow, whereas cruise lines executives stressed that the cost of capital makes year-round deployment of cruise vessels a necessity.
MedCruise members and associates were among over 150 delegates from across Europe that gathered in the Spanish port city of Cartagena for the 3rd Seatrade Winter Cruising Forum.
The conference, supported by MedCruise and the association representing cruise lines, CLIA, kicked off with the opening speeches including the intervention of Carla Salvadό, MedCruise President.
The opening panel included presentations by MedCruise Secretary General Thanos Pallis, Louis Cruises’ Kerry Anastassiadis, Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ Chris Coates, Carnival Corp & PLC’s Giora Israel, Intercruises’ Mark Robinson, and CLIA Spain’s Alfredo Serrano.
Participants had the change to discuss ways to overcome the seasonality and see the number of ships and passengers cruising in winter months to continue to grow, whereas cruise lines executives stressed that the cost of capital makes year-round deployment of cruise vessels a necessity.
Everybody commented the port of Cartagena for the initiative to host the event and the excellent hospitality.
Cartagena, a MedCruise member port, has been among those ports in the Med that following a co-ordinated effort by the port authority and the city has seen cruise business grow to over 100 calls last year and around 140,000 passengers.
“Cruise ports in the Med and its adjoining seas are actively seeking ways to increase the levels of cruise traffic observed in recent times. The Winter Cruising Forum helped understanding the challenges. It also proved that we have many to gain by coordinating our efforts at a broader scale, allowing cruise lines to further trust and deploy their vessels in the most magnificent cruise region of all” said Carla Salvadό, MedCruise President.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
