The historic Hotel Santa Catalina in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria hosted the fourteenth Excellence Cruise Awards Gala, a special edition that CruisesNews Media Group wanted to dedicate to the resilience and subsequent reactivation of the tourism sector most affected by the pandemic.
The event brought together top executives from cruise shipping companies, as well as cruise tour operators, shipping agents, ports and destinations, travel agents, partners, professionals, entrepreneurs and suppliers in the sector, as well as professionals from Las Palmas and the Canary Islands.
During an entertaining gala directed and presented by the comedian and showman, Mr. Corrales, and enlivened by the percussion group Memvus and the acrobats Lena Delaire and her Pole dance act and Alba Muñoz with her Handstand act, 15 awards were presented in recognition of different milestones in the reactivation of cruise tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, given the circumstances, there were no votes or categories, but there were awards recognizing the effort, resilience, and courage shown in restoring an industry that, at the start of the pandemic, was at its peak. The award winners stood out for their resilience and for driving the sector's recovery. Several companies chose the Canary Islands as their first destination to resume operations, many continued launching new ships, while others developed protocols that served as models for the industry.
The winners at this special gala were:
- Princess Cruises
- The shipping agents, represented by the Spanish Association of Shipping Agents
- Richard Fain CEO and Chairman of Royal Caribbean Group
- Travel agencies, represented by the Canary Islands Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators.
- TUI Cruises
- Celebrity Cruises
- Canary Islands Government
- MSC Cruises
- Costa Cruises
- Hapag Lloyd
- Silversea Cruises
- Norwegian Cruise Line
- Mystic Cruises
- The Port Authorities of Las Palmas and Tenerife.
- Juan Francisco Martín Naranjo, Commercial Director of the Port Authority of Las Palmas
The choice of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is due, among other considerations, to the step forward taken in the summer of 2020 with the creation and approval of the first health protocols that allowed it to start receiving cruise ships again in October 2020 after seven months of inactivity, being the first Spanish port to resume activity.
This edition, promoted and sponsored by Puertos de Las Palmas, the Las Palmas City Council, Turismo de las Islas Canarias, Turismo de Gran Canaria, also had the sponsorship of Puertos del Estado and Global Ports Holding.
