On the occasion of the Cruise Europe annual meeting
Thus, Santander will be the host port for the meeting, on the occasion of the Cruise Europe Conference, the annual meeting held by this organization which integrates more than one hundred members including the most important ports in northern Europe, shipping companies and operators in the cruise sector.
According to the Port Authority of Santander (APS), the first meetings will take place on Tuesday the 28th, and will be organized by region, differentiating four: Iceland, Norway and the Faroe Islands; the Baltic; the United Kingdom and Ireland; and the west coast of Europe.
The following day, Wednesday the 29th, the Europe Cruise conference will formally begin, with the opening day featuring the President of Cantabria, Ignacio Diego; the President of State Ports, José Llorca; the Mayor of Santander, Íñigo de la Serna; the President of Cruise Europe, Michael McCarthy; and the President of the Port of Santander, José Joaquín Martínez Sieso.
Following this, the various presentations and activities will be developed by companies specializing in cruises such as Tui Cruises, Holland and American Line, Cruise & Maritime Voyages, Noble Caledonia or Pullmantur.
In parallel, visits have been organized to showcase Santander and other points of interest in Cantabria, such as Cabárceno, Santillana del Mar and Comillas, with the aim of promoting the city and the region as an optimal destination for cruise ships and demonstrating to large companies in the sector the potential of the region as a place of high interest for excursions and activities for cruise passengers.
Santander's bid to host the Cruise Europe Conference was presented last year in Riga, the capital of Latvia, during the organization's 2014 conference.
The documentation submitted for this candidacy was prepared jointly by the Government of Cantabria, the City Council and the Port of Santander.
In 2009 the three institutions created the Cruise Forum, an organization that has since managed the promotion of Santander as a holiday ship destination.
