The Vice President of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in Europe, Nikos Mertzadinis, will be the co-presenter of the Atlantic Islands Cruise Conference 2024, which will be held over three days, from September 26 to 28, in Funchal, the capital of Madeira.
“We are very excited to have Nikos Mertzadinis in Madeira. He is a highly respected voice in the industry and will bring to this Conference a comprehensive and in-depth vision of a sector he knows like few others,” highlights Paula Cabaço, CEO of Portos da Madeira (APRAM, SA), noting that the aim of the conference is to project the future of the cruise market in the Macaronesian islands of the Atlantic, discussing the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Cruise Atlantic Islands (CAI) unites the ports of Madeira, the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Cape Verde in a shared commercial and communications strategy. It currently represents a market of 3.3 million cruise tourists and took its first steps as a collective brand on September 19, 1984, at a meeting in Funchal that brought together port officials from Madeira and the Canary Islands.
This Conference, promoted by APRAM, will mark this date, through a tribute and a conversation with the participants of this founding meeting: Juan Francisco Martín (former Commercial Director of the Ports of the Canary Islands), João Reis (former president of APRAM), Michael Blandy (former CEO of the Blandy Group), Eduardo Álvarez Hamilton (former CEO of Hamilton & CO, in the Canary Islands), Franklim Spencer (former president of the Ports of Cape Verde) and Pedro Roque (former president of the Port Authority of Tenerife).
“It will be an opportunity to pay tribute to all these valuable and visionary people, to whom the cruise market in the Macaronesia region owes so much. They realized that only by working together could we establish ourselves in a global and competitive industry like cruises,” says Paula Cabaço.
The Conference, which will be held at the Funchal City Hall, an APRAM partner, will feature a wide and diverse range of industry experts, including Eduardo Cabrita, Managing Director of MSC Portugal, Fiona Noone, Director of Port Planning and Operations at Marella Cruises / TUI, Kai Algar, Director of Port Planning and Operations at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, Sylviane de Tracy, Director of Development and Research at Ponant, Hugo Basto, Director of Mystic Cruises, and Rafael Fernández-Álava, Director of Communication and External Relations at Costa Cruises.
“The quality of the speakers at this conference demonstrates the industry’s interest in the potential of our market. CAI is a well-established product in the industry, but it still offers ample room for growth,” emphasizes the CEO of APRAM.
The event will bring together CAI members, guests, operators, companies, industry agents, government officials, and national and international journalists for three days.
The Conference is not limited to sectoral discussions within the cruise industry, but will also have a strong social component. The program runs from the 26th to the 28th. It includes a visit to the Funchal Ecological Park on September 26th for international and national guests, speakers, and journalists; and a familiarization trip (FAM) on September 28th to the north of Madeira Island, also for international and national guests, speakers, and journalists. One of the highlights of the conference will be the Welcome Cocktail Reception, which will take place at the end of September 26th, where a tribute will be paid to the founders of CAI.
More information can be found at www.caiconference.com.
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