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Port Canaveral re-opens Terminal 5 after $48.38 million renovation

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 07 June 2016 07 June 2016

After undergoing a $48.38 million transformation in order to handle larger and modern ships, Cruise Terminal 5 opened this past weekend hosting the Carnival Valor. The improvements include an expanded terminal, a longer 120-foot longer pier, a new 1,044-space parking garage, and new mobile passenger boarding bridges. Carnival Sunshine also will berth at Terminal 5.

Renovation of the 1991-built terminal began in August to allow Cruise Terminal 5 to handle ships carrying up to 3,500 passengers, up from its previous capacity of 2,500.

The projects involved a majority of local workers consisting of 37 companies with a construction crew of 500 on the terminal and 50 companies with a crew of 450 on the parking garage for a total of 265,000 hours with zero injuries.

Trois-Rivières inaugurates cruise terminal

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 03 June 2016 03 June 2016

Yves Lévesque, Mayor of Trois-Rivières, accompanied by Julie Boulet, Minister of Tourism and Minister Responsible for the Mauricie Region, recently inaugurated the brand new port terminal at the city’s Harbourfront Park.

For the past five years, Trois-Rivières has welcomed international cruise ships, enabling more than 9,500 passengers and 4,600 crew members to discover the charms of this pretty city nestled at the confluence of three waterways. In fact, cruise visitors have given the city a satisfaction rating of 87%. With an objective to bump this number even higher and offer visitors a new experience, Innovation et Développement économique Trois-Rivières initiated the process that culminated in the opening of the new port terminal. For Mayor Lévesque, the investment was a necessary one: “This new port terminal will allow Trois-Rivières to shine, while positioning itself advantageously to attract and serve international cruise lines.”

The new terminal was built at a cost of $630,000, with the City of Trois-Rivières contributing $382,000, the Ministère du Tourisme du Québec $168,000 and the Port of Trois-Rivières $80,000.

“I could not be prouder to participate in the inauguration of the Trois-Rivières port terminal, a project supported by my government. Through the tourism plan in our Maritime Strategy, we are aiming to make the St. Lawrence River a world-renowned tourism destination that will be the pride of Quebecers, enjoy a high profile among foreign visitors, and reap the considerable economic benefits of sustainable development. This achievement will greatly contribute to providing a warm welcome to cruise clientele as they visit the city and region,” said Minister Boulet.

For his part, Gaétan Boivin, President and CEO of the Port of Trois-Rivières, said: “The money invested in the new port terminal is in keeping with the Port’s goal to facilitate access to the river for citizens and visitors alike and enhance the city-port interface. In recent years, the Port of Trois-Rivières has notably created Hector-Louis-Langevin Park on the banks of the river and a pedestrian walkway to make it easier to access to the Park. All of these improvements further enhance our reputation for hospitality and enable us to surpass our clients’ expectations.”

Bremerhaven to host Cruise Europe's annual congress is 2017

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 02 June 2016 02 June 2016

Cruise Europe: Success for Bremerhaven - Annual Congress 2017 to be hosted in Bremerhaven/Bremen.

For several years now, Columbus Cruise Centers in Bremerhaven (CCCB) and Wismar have been affiliated in Cruise Europe, a prestigious international cruise-marketing cooperation representing about 120 North European ports.

CCCB achieves a great international success. At this year's Cruise Europe Congress in Dublin, our organisation contended for the honour of hosting the event in 2017. After a preliminary visit and assessment of our location and program proposal, Cruise Europe decided to put Bremerhaven on the short-list.

On Wednesday, June 1, the members were shown a specially edited version of the promotion film "Bremen/Bremerhaven - Made of Stars". Bremerhaven managed to ward off competition from two other destinations and secured the hosting of this important event in 2017. Bremerhaven's entry was given comprehensive support by various organisations - the city council, Bremerhaven Destination Marketing, the Bremen Senator for Economy, Ports and Labour, bremenports GmbH & Co KG as well as the hotel industry and other institutions in Bremen and Bremerhaven. Bremen and Bremerhaven can now look forward to an important few days for the international cruise industry in April 2017, with both towns welcoming cruise experts from all over the world. The congress will also include a wide range of excursions.

Since it is also a member of Cruise Europe, the event is of equal importance for activities at Columbus Cruise Center Wismar.

New CEO for South Pacific Tourism Organisation

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 29 May 2016 29 May 2016

The South Pacific Tourism Organisation will have a new Chief Executive Officer, following its recent Board of Directors meeting held in Gold Coast, Queensland last week.

The SPTO Board announced the appointment of Tonga national, Christopher Cocker, as its CEO. The appointment of Cocker comes as no surprise given his vast regional experience in trade, investment and regional tourism and having worked with regional agencies such as the Pacific Trade & Invest Auckland office, Pacific Community (SPC), to mention a few.

Cocker was also employed by the SPTO in recent years as the Project Manager for the EU-funded Pacific Regional Tourism Capacity Building Programme (PRTCBP) which was implemented by the regional tourism organisation.

Welcoming the news, SPTO’s Acting CEO Alisi Lutu said, “Our heartfelt congratulations to Chris and we look forward to starting this new chapter with him at the helm of SPTO. It is an important role given SPTO’s mandate to market and develop regional tourism and we are glad that Chris’ experience and expertise will come in handy when he assumes his position”.

The Board and staff of SPTO convey its utmost and sincere congratulations to Cocker and anticipates his assumption of official duties soon.