For two days, November 22nd and 23rd, some of the most influential professionals in the cruise industry, both national and international, will meet in Madrid. Cruise line executives, port authorities, destinations, travel agents, tour operators, shipping agents and industry suppliers … All of them will attend this new edition or the International Cruise Summit.
Present at the inauguration will be the President of Spanish Ports and other personalities from Tourspain, Madrid city council and Madrid Local Government. Delegates will attend roundtables and sessions which will discuss “The evolution of the cruise ships”, “The design of itineraries”,“The future of destination programmes”, “Selling the product”, “Passenger profiles” and “Purchases and logistics of cruise companies”.
More than 300 delegates from around the world will attend this unmissable event, which will be held at the NH Collection Madrid Eurobuilding Hotel.
ICS 2016 will have, among others speakers, prestigious personalities such as Pierfrancesco Vago (Chairman of CLIA Europe and Executive Chairman of MSC Cruises) who will handle the introduction and the state of the industry speeches. Also appearing on stage will be the following eminent speakers. Jorge Vilches (President & CEO of PULLMANTUR Group), Kerry Anastassiadis (CEO of CELESTYAL CRUISES), Shirley Henderson (Manager Shore Excursions CARNIVAL UK), Mark Robinson (President INTERCRUISES SHORESIDE & PORT SERVICES) Clare Ward (Senior Commercial Planning Manager FRED OLSEN CRUISE LINES) and Marcus Puttich (Head of Port Operations TUI CRUISES), Mario Zanetti (Vice President Revenue Management, Itinerary Planning, Air and Sea Operations COSTA CROCIERE) Helen Panagos (VP Marketing and Sales Crystal Yachts, Residences and Crystal Air Cruise Destination Experiences) CRYSTAL CRUISES and Gianluca Suprani (Head of Global Port Development and Shore Activities, MSC CRUISES).
This sixth edition will allow further enhancement of Spain’s image as the second European cruise tourist destination and the positioning of Madrid as a pivotal city in hosting international congresses. In addition, Spain will be further consolidated as a reference in the sector for its infrastructure, variety of destinations, including cultural diversions and / or entertainment for everyone. During 2015, 8.4 million cruise passengers visited the Spanish coast, which is 9.4% more than in 2014, setting a new record. Additionally, Barcelona become the most visited European port throughout the year and in the first eleven positions of this ranking, we find three Spanish ports, namely Balearic Islands, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
