The most relevant international professionals in the cruise industry will meet on November 17 and 18 in Madrid, during the eleventh edition of the International Cruise Summit, the prestigious congress that analyzes the current state of the sector each year.
Following a successful hybrid in-person/virtual edition in 2020, the International Cruise Summit 2021 is fully committed to in-person attendance, following all necessary health and safety protocols, at the Meliá Castilla Hotel in Madrid, thus becoming the first in-person international cruise event since the start of the pandemic in Europe.
The coronavirus pandemic hit the cruise industry hard, forcing it to completely halt operations in March 2020. Since the summer of 2020, but with greater intensity in 2021, cruise lines have been gradually resuming operations with great effort, implementing health and safety protocols that far exceed the standards of other sectors and governments. Thus, all passengers boarding cruises today must have passed a coronavirus test beforehand, and in many companies, only fully vaccinated individuals are allowed to board.
However, companies are seeing an exceptional level of bookings for 2022, especially in the second half, because after two summers with travel restrictions and difficult coexistence with the virus, consumers are eager not only to travel, but also to do so in a luxurious way, allowing themselves luxuries with the money saved.
Throughout this period, the shipyards have completed and delivered the ships scheduled for 2020 and 2021, and have continued building new units that will be delivered in 2022 and subsequent years. These are environmentally sustainable ships, utilizing the latest technologies to minimize their impact, or using alternative fuels such as liquefied natural gas. Furthermore, a dozen older, less efficient ships have been scrapped, primarily in Türkiye.
Top executives, international cruise line representatives, port authorities, travel agents, and industry experts will be present at one of the world's most important cruise congresses. The event will feature presentations from leading cruise line executives such as Mario Zanetti, President of Costa Crociere; Roberto Martinoli, President and CEO of Silversea Cruises; Ferdinand Strohmeier, CEO of Mystic Cruises; Ben Bouldin, Vice President EMEA of Royal Caribbean International; Jo Rzymowska, Vice President and Managing Director EMEA of Celebrity Cruises; and Bob Dixon, Director EMEA & Latin America of Cunard Line, among others.
During the two days, several round tables and presentations will discuss the recovery of the cruise industry and tourist destinations, the challenges of recruiting all the workers the sector needs again, and how to recover pre-pandemic sales and price levels.
