Santa Cruz de Tenerife will host the eleventh edition of Seatrade Cruise Med in September of next year , the most important trade fair in the cruise sector in Europe, whose celebration is expected to bring to the Island some six hundred delegates from companies in the sector and an associated movement of more than four thousand visitors.
Seatrade Cruise Med 2016 will represent a further step in establishing Santa Cruz de Tenerifeas a venue for major congresses and conventions, bringing together representatives from all segments of the cruise industry value chain, from the world's leading shipping companies to delegations from international ports, including tour operators, shipyard and classification society representatives, ship suppliers, leisure and recreation companies and any other activity linked to the business.
This was confirmed during the press conference held this morning by the organizers and collaborators of the event, specifically Ports of Tenerife, Island Council, Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, Seatrade Med and CLIA.
Andrew Williams, CEO of Seatrade Cruise Med, expressed his delight at the celebration of this eleventh edition in Tenerife, whose port "has registered a significant increase in cruise traffic in recent years.
Williams said he was “amazed” by the enthusiasm and hard work shown by the Port Authority of Tenerifein organizing this important event, which focuses strictly on “promoting cruise tourism. Williams anticipated an attendance of representatives from up to two hundred destination ports, six hundred speakers, two hundred cruise lines, and the authorities who“make the decisions” in the sector.
One of the reasons why an event of this magnitude will be held in Tenerife is possible thanks to the work developed by Ports of Tenerife during the last two years within the framework of MedCruise, the Mediterranean Cruise Ports Association (www.medcruise.com) as a member of the firm, specifically of its board of directors, a sine qua non condition to be able to host this biennial fair.
This was stated by the Commercial Director of the Ports of Tenerife, Airam Díaz Pastor, who also noted that it will be the first time Seatrade Med has been held outside of Europe. Pastor added that coinciding with the event in Tenerife, one of its general assemblies will also take place, guaranteeing the presence of all its members on the island.
Specifically, the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife ranks tenth in cruise passenger traffic out of the 75 ports that make up MedCruise, and seventh in total port calls in 2014. CLIA , the brand representing 63 cruise lines worldwide, will also hold its annual committee meeting on the island, coinciding with the Seatrade Cruise Med event. Its vice president, Tom Matesanz , asserted that the cruise sector has “massive potential” in tourism , registering 22.6 million passengers in 2014 with a market penetration of just three percent.
Both the president of the Tenerife Island Council, Carlos Alonso, and the mayor of the city, José Manuel Bermúdez, highlighted that this will be the largest congress that Santa Cruz de Tenerife , with an estimated total of more than two thousand attendees from up to seventy different countries.
Thanks to its large capacity and location, the International Trade Fair and Congress Center will host not only the exhibitors but also the various conferences and roundtables being organized. It will be here that the trends in the cruise market for the coming years will be presented, from requests for the construction of new ships to traffic forecasts that have clearly been on the rise in recent seasons.
We remind you that Santa Cruz de Tenerife will host its first Cruise Forum, organized by Cruises News Media Group, earlier this year, 2015. Without a doubt, Santa Cruz de Tenerife is booming.
