The International Cruise Summit, organized by Cruises News Media Group, will bring together, in its ninth edition, the most prominent international professionals in the cruise industry to discuss this outstanding tourist sector. The prestigious event will take place on November 27 and 28.
The industry is still booming, with an order book of 112 new ships until 2027. In 2020 we will see 22 new ships, an outstanding statistic. Practically 2 ships per month.
However, the industry faces challenges and stereotypes. The Summit will discuss, among many other current issues, the extent to which cruises have been the cause of tourist overcrowding in some cities. The industry will reiterate its commitment to destinations and the importance of not treating this issue with sensational biases.
Moreover, the environmental challenge and the industry’s commitment to a future of zero emissions will also be part of the debate.
Senior executives, international cruise companies, port authorities, service providers and industry experts will be present at one of the most prestigious cruise congresses in the world. All these agents converge together in the ICS with companies interested in entering this industry. This Summit is a facilitator of potential business alliances.
Guest of honour at the event will be the CEO of TUI Cruises, Wybcke Meier. Within the section of the ICS talks, Emre Sayin, president of Global Ports Holding Inc. will also give his innovative vision of the management of ports and destinations.
During the two days, several round tables and presentations will take place with topics such as “The incipient transformation of the industry”, “Gastronomy as a new axis of product marketing”, “The vision, challenges and trends in the construction of ships” and highly current themes, “Big Data: the new gold of cruise marketing”, or “Sustainability in the tourist experience in ports and tourist destinations” among many other topics.
More than 350 delegates from around the world will attend this event at the Meliá Castilla hotel in Madrid, which will feature speakers from the international cruise companies: Pullmantur Cruises, Costa Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines, Carnival UK, Royal Caribbean, Silversea, TUI Cruises , Cruise & Maritime Voyages, Saga Cruises, Fred Olsen, Marella Cruises, Princess Cruises, Crystal Cruises, MSC Cruises, Blue World Voyages.
In its commitment to sustainability, there will be time reserved to present tools from monitoring the tourist flows in the cities, the cycle and contribution of the cruise business to local economies or the detailed analysis of new ship orders until 2027.
In order to facilitate its international desire to promote innovation in cruise tourism, the event will be attended by Tomas Tillberg Design International, the pioneers in interior decoration, and will also feature Blue World Voyages, a new cruise concept never seen before in the industry.
ICS will also be repeating its successful Executive on Executive section. In this second year, it will feature two leading executives: Tine Nathalie Oelmann, Director of Destination Management and Operations at TUI Cruises and Jacqui Nobile, Senior Manager of Destination Services and Operations at Marella Cruises They will maintain a relaxed talk without a moderator about their experience, vision and cooperation.
This ninth edition contributes to enhancing the image of Spain as the number two European cruise tourism destination, fourth European issuing market and positions Madrid as one of the best European tourism meetings destinations, as headquarters of the main international congresses.