The event held on June 18th was a resounding success in terms of participation, demonstrating the great interest that exists among the various tourism companies in Santa Cruz de Tenerife towards the growing cruise tourism sector and its advantages for the island.
The forum, promoted by Ports of Tenerife in collaboration with Turismo de Tenerife, Siam Park, Loro Parque, and organized by Cruises News Media Group, brought together professionals and national and international experts from shipping companies, agents, tour operators, travel agencies, ports, and the cruise sector in general to discuss and learn about topics relevant to all sectors of tourism in Tenerife. This allowed interested parties to see the excellent opportunities that cruise tourism brings to both Tenerife and their own businesses.
The forum activities began at 9:30 a.m. with opening speeches by the President of the Port of Tenerife, Pedro Rodríguez, the President of the Tenerife Island Council, Carlos Enrique Alonso, and Virginia López, Director of Cruises News Media Group. The first topic was addressed by Alfredo Serrano, Director of CLIA (Spain), who discussed the current state of the cruise industry worldwide. Following him, Pedro Suárez, CEO of Hamilton & Co., emphasized the importance of the cruise line owner in the destination and the role of the port agent in serving cruise ships during port calls. Next, Deborah Vega, Director of Mediterranean Products for Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services, spoke about the role of tour operators and excursions.
During the second block, Airam Díaz, commercial director of the Port Authority of Tenerife, along with Stephanie Wear, director of Economic Promotion and Air Connectivity of Turismo de Tenerife, both referred to the potential of Tenerife as a potential destination in the Mid-Atlantic. They were followed by Marcus Puttich, director of Port Operations of the company TUI Cruises, who presented to the audience the process of choosing itineraries within a cruise line.
Next, Carla Salvadó, president of MedCruise, Lotfi El Ajmi, director of General Affairs at Tunisian Ports, and Patricia Bairrada, from the APRAM association, analyzed the work of European cruise port promotion associations, each from the perspective of the entity they represent.
The session also featured a dynamic panel discussion on the question "How does air connectivity affect the opening of new markets?", in which Emiliano González, CEO of MSC Cruises, Ricardo Rodríguez, Head of Business Development at Iberia, Cyril Lemaire, Associate Director of Traktek Partners, Rafael Fernández, Marketing Director of Costa Cruises and Mike St Laurent, Senior Consultant at ASM, participated.
The final presentation was given by Luis de Carvalho, CEO of BA Europe, and focused on solutions to seasonality in cruise destinations. This last panel discussion included Javier Marín, Director of Itineraries and Economy Routes at Pullmantur Cruises (Crosieres de France), Alessandro Carollo, Director of Port Operations in the Mediterranean for Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Azamara Club Cruises, Marcus Puttich, Director of Port Operations for TUI Cruises, Deborah Vega, Product Director for the Mediterranean at Intercruises Shoreside & Port Service, and Airam Diaz, Commercial Director of the Port Authority of Tenerife.
Some of the conclusions of the Forum were the need and possibility of extending the cruise season in Tenerife, the willingness of shipping companies to call more often at the island, the influence of crew members as recommenders of destinations and the adaptation of services and excursions to different nationalities.
The Forum included some social activities and a visit to the Teide National Park for the speakers.
Newsletter Summary June…
