The Andalusian ports are participating as exhibitors, together with Turismo Andaluz, at the Seatrade Med trade fair, held in Barcelona from September 15th to 18th. This cruise industry trade fair, along with Seatrade Miami, is one of the most important in the world for the cruise business, and this is the first time it has been held in Spain.
The central event of Andalusia's presence at Seatrade Med was the presentation of the Cruise Tourism Action Plan, which will outline the joint promotion and communication strategies for Andalusian ports in the coming years. The presentation was given by Trinidad Cabeo, President of the Port Authority of Almería and current President of the "Suncruise Andalucía" Association, which has been developing joint cruise initiatives among Andalusian ports since 2006. Also participating was Juan Vargas, Director of Promotion and Communication for the Andalusian Public Tourism Company, part of the Regional Ministry of Tourism of the Andalusian Government.
Cruise tourism activity in Andalusian ports shows very positive results. The collaboration between Ports and Andalusian Tourism has generated a joint and innovative action plan, building on a successful track record, which translates into the following figures. In 2013, Andalusian ports received:
– 677 scales
– 824,000 cruise tourists, of whom 87% were foreign. (Mostly British, but increasingly more Spanish, German and French tourists are stopping at Andalusian ports).
Cruise activity in Andalusia accounts for approximately 11% of all cruise activity in Spain. The ports of Malaga and Cadiz are among the country's main cruise ports.
The Port of Almería was very well represented at this trade fair. Along with the Port Authority and the Bahía Almeriport Foundation, representatives from the Almería Provincial Council's Tourism Service and the Almería City Council's Tourism Department were also in attendance. They all maintained a busy schedule, as in addition to the presentation of the Andalusian cruise master plan, they had the opportunity to meet with some of the main cruise lines that visit Andalusian ports, such as Carnival, Aida Cruises, Windstar Cruises, and MSC Cruises.
In the words of Trinidad Cabeo, “The Andalusia Cruise Master Plan presents exciting new developments for promoting cruise tourism in Andalusian ports. The plan was developed after a lengthy period of study and planning, which included a detailed analysis of the cruise sector in Andalusia. This involved incorporating contributions and initiatives from the various ports, and within each destination, considering the observations of experts from the tourism sector and the local cruise industry.”
The Cruise Tourism Action Plan outlines the implementation of various joint promotional activities and identifies a number of key markets for promoting Andalusian ports as cruise destinations. The priority markets for the coming years will be the main European countries that generate cruise passengers, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, with Spain following in fourth place due to its growing cruise market. The strategic objective of the Action Plan is to increase the number of cruise ships and passengers arriving at Andalusian ports and to improve the quality and image of the tourism offerings related to this market. To achieve this, the plan focuses on maximizing the complementary nature of Andalusia's tourism offerings, optimizing the options available in each destination.
The Plan includes distinct strategies: product-focused actions and promotional actions (differentiating between traditional and online promotion). For the Plan's effective implementation, a Working Group (monitoring, control, and management committee) will be established, creating a work plan and timeline that outlines the key milestones of the joint action by Andalusian cruise ports. Among the main actions included in the plan, as presented to a large number of guests at the event, are the following:
– To focus on the complementarity of the Andalusian offer, maximizing the offer in each destination.
The promotion and communication strategy for Andalusian ports regarding cruises will be a unified one, led by Turismo Andaluz. This includes joint participation in general tourism fairs, branding in mainstream media and specialized magazines, and the development of consistent and up-to-date graphic materials.
– Familiarization trips, marketing agreements with tour operators and travel agencies, in-house presentations, jointly with the operators.
– Joint participation in global cruise industry forums and associations. And cooperation with other key players in the cruise tourism market, such as the CLIA association.
– Something very new and interesting is the intention of Andalusian Tourism to develop the brand “Andalusia Cruise Tourism”, as well as online actions such as improving the website space, improving the positioning of the Andalusia Cruise Destination brand, online communication on specialized websites and establishing a social media plan.
