Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum brings cruise industry leaders together 
for first cruise event ever in Thessaloniki

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

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Published: 25 April 2023 25 April 2023

Over 400 delegates from the global cruise industry gathered at Thessaloniki's iconic Makedonia Palace hotel for the 7th Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum, which is being held at Greece’s second biggest city for the first time since its inception.

On the first day, attendees expressed optimism and hope for the cruise industry's future growth, with opening remarks delivered by Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Governor of the Region of Central Macedonia, Konstantinos Zervas, Mayor of Thessaloniki Municipality and Athanasios Liagkos, Executive Chairman of the BoD & Managing Director of ThPA SA - Port of Thessaloniki.

The opening day was keynoted by Pierfrancesco Vago, Executive Chairman, MSC Cruises & Global Chair, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Vago spoke about the importance of sustainability and how the cruise industry is taking steps to reduce its environmental impact. Vago emphasized that “the cruise industry has made huge technological leaps in less than 15 years as we strive to reach our decarbonisation objectives by 2050. For example, MSC Cruises is bringing later this year vessels that are 55% more efficient in terms of CO2 per nautical mile than earlier vessel classes built in 2009.”

In his capacity as Global Chair of CLIA, Vago spoke about the association's efforts to promote the cruise industry's growth and development worldwide. He emphasized the importance of collaboration between cruise lines, governments and other stakeholders in ensuring the industry's continued success.

"The cruise industry is a vital part of the global tourism industry, and it has the potential to make a significant contribution to local economies worldwide," he said. "We are committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that the industry continues to grow and thrive in the years ahead."

Apostolos Tzitzikostas extended an invitation to the cruise industry to invest in Thessaloniki. He said: “With its stunning natural beauty and rich cultural heritage, Thessaloniki has the potential to become a major destination for cruise travellers. Thessaloniki offers a unique blend of historical and modern attractions, including museums, galleries, and a vibrant food scene. By investing in Thessaloniki, the international cruise industry could help to create new jobs and stimulate economic growth, while also providing travellers with an unforgettable experience in one of Europe's most beautiful and fascinating cities.

During the Forum’s first panel discussion titled “The Return to Growth: Challenges ahead for Cruise Lines and Destinations,” Yu Zenggang, Chairman of Piraeus Port Authority SA, said that the Piraeus port resumed its cruise operations in May 2021, faster than other Mediterranean ports and experienced a significant uptake in the cruise sector in 2021.

In 2019, Piraeus port broke the 1 million mark in terms of cruise passengers. Nevertheless, the port not only achieved fast and full recovery but exceeded pre-pandemic levels. The port successfully served a significant number of cruise ships, contributing to the recovery of the Greek tourist industry. Overall, 2022 was a record-breaking year for Piraeus Port Authority, with both revenue and profitability at their highest-ever levels. The port’s cruise segment showed a significant increase in both port calls and passenger traffic. In 2022, passenger traffic increased by 190 percent to 880,416 compared to 303,665 in 2021. Cruise ship berthing also rose by 79 percent to 677 berths compared to 379 a year earlier, exceeding pre-Covid 2019 levels.

Yu said that a new cruise terminal is on the way, which, at its final phase, may accommodate the largest cruise ships in the world. It is expected to finish in a 2-three-year period, following the licensing procedure by the involved ministries and always in good and close cooperation with the Greek government.

Figen Ayan, President, MedCruise, Marie-Caroline Laurent, Director General, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Europe, Wybcke Meier, CEO, TUI Cruises GmbH and Chris Theophilides, CEO, Celestyal also shared their thoughts and optimistic messages for the growth of the cruise industry globally and in the Eastern Mediterranean more specifically.

Meier said: “This summer we will be even stronger than before, the demand is there especially for the Eastern Mediterranean and Greece in particular which is very popular for German tourists. We see very strong bookings for the years to come as we expand our fleet. We will have more opportunities to deploy ships in this region and from next year we will have homeporting in Heraklion. When we work together in a more coordinated way with the destinations making sure that we provide a great experience to the local population and to our guests in issues such as berthing policy and a little bit more transparency can help us all as we can more effectively steer the guest flows we have. The number of Germans who take cruise holidays is very small and the potential for growth is huge, which means that Greece as a favourite destination for German people stands to gain the most in the future.”

Theophilides said: “It’s very important that the event takes place in Thessaloniki which for Celestyal Cruises is a very important destination, as we have a vessel here every Sunday. An even bigger vessel, Celestyal Journey will commence cruises from Thessaloniki in September. We believe that the number of passengers in 2023 will reach the levels of 2019 and we remain highly optimistic for strong growth well into the future.”

During the opening day of the event, the Hellenic Ports Association (ELIME) signed an MoU with the Union of Cruise Ship Owners & Associated Members (EEKFN) in order to coordinate actions and bilateral plans designed to ensure that the development of the cruise industry in the Eastern Mediterranean region is done according to the international standards of service. Liagkos, in his capacity as Chairman of Hellenic Ports Association (ELIME), said: “One of the first actions we will take as a result of this agreement is to implement a series of initiatives to facilitate vessels berthing allocation and to solve problems such as visas, Covid tests, immigration across the association’s 13 member ports etc. In the framework of this MoU, we will coordinate the activities of our members to develop port policy, the participation of ports in regional development, and the creation of robust and competitive port service companies.”

The event continues tomorrow with a number of panel discussions, seminars and presentations.

Technical problems force Queen Mary 2 to cancel two voyages

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 25 April 2023 25 April 2023

An unspecified technical problem has forced Queen Mary 2 to cancel a trans-Atlantic voyage from Southampton to New York that was due to depart on 23 April and the return crossing back to the UK that had been scheduled to follow the westbound voyage.

The ship, which is the flagship of Carnival group member Cunard, remains in Southampton, where the repairs are being carried out.

The ship was scheduled to depart from New York on 30 April for a seven night voyage to the UK port.

Cruise Britain expects record season in 2023

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 25 April 2023 25 April 2023

Cruise Britain says that the cruise sector’s post-Covid ‘year of transition’ was a success for ports and service providers around the UK and has provided the strongest possible springboard for a projected record season in 2023.

The year 2019 was the UK’s previous record season and 2022’s 2176 cruise calls only showed a drop of 22% on that record year. In terms of transit passengers enjoying a day ashore in the UK, ports welcomed nearly 1.4 million guests, around 80% of the 2019 figure.

“Looking ahead to this year, we see a very robust projected growth of 8% in terms of port calls across the UK. Some regions such as the South West, North West and Scotland are reporting likely figures in excess of this national growth rate,” Ian McQuade, chairman of Cruise Britain, said in a statement. 

“This is a fantastic projection and the strength of the immediate growth trend is testament to the increasing popularity of Britain as a cruise destination. We really can offer a port for every cruise ship currently sailing – from expedition ships to boutique and mid-range vessels up to the largest afloat.”

With each transit passenger being worth an average of £70 to the local economy every time they step ashore, the visitor figure for 2022 means a tourism injection of around £100 million to Britain’s coastal economies. The 2022 embarkation figure of 1.04 million passengers setting sail from a UK port constitutes a rebound to 94% of 2019 figures.

“Whilst Round Britain and Ireland cruise popularity continues to grow, we have now seen the successful return of itineraries where British port calls are part of a multi-country story of discovery,” McQuade said.

"In 2022, cruise passengers arrived for the day or embarked through 58 cruise ports aboard 107 individual ships, from Kirkwall and Aberdeen in the north to Guernsey in the English Channel, with the vast majority of ships calling on multiple occasions. 52 different cruise lines were welcomed and ships visited UK ports as diverse as Belfast and Bristol, Portland and Portsmouth, Douglas (Isle of Man) and Dover, and many more."

"The UK offers an incredibly diverse cruise holiday experience for guests and this is one of the most powerful reasons for the growth projections that we are seeing," commented McQuade. "Cruise Britain and all its members continues to work with cruise lines, industry partners and stakeholders, and government to support the development of cruise as a resilient and profitable sector of the travel industry."

Image: Memorial candle to the shrine of St Thomas of Canterbury that stood here from 1220 to 1538, Canterbury Cathedral, Kent

 

Couple complete equivalent of 20 marathons in lifeboat fund raising drive

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

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Published: 21 April 2023 21 April 2023

A British husband and wife team have completed the equivalent of 20 marathons as Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ ship Borealis travels ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ – in a bid to raise £10,000 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) that operates lifeboats on the coasts of Britain, the company said in a statement.

Following as closely as possible in the footsteps of fictional explorer Phileas Fogg, smaller ship Borealis set sail on the ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ cruise at the end of February, with Stephen and Claire Ward, from Wellington in Somerset, among the guests due to join.

However, when Stephen was unable to join at the last minute, the couple decided to continue with the feat to complete the equivalent of 10 marathons each - with Claire tallying up her miles on board, and husband Stephen completing his ashore, including by running the Brighton Marathon earlier this month. The pair have already completed 22 marathons between them, and plan to continue to see how many they can accomplish in total.

To help the couple towards their fundraising, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines challenged other guests and crew aboard Borealis to see if they could travel the 30,828 miles of their cruise by walking, running, cycling, swimming or any other means before the end of the cruise in May.

Guests have been competing sponsored laps of the deck and are able to log any miles walked ashore as they explore, while crew have been completing sponsored relay races in the pool, and have so far travelled 15,659 miles.

As a united team effort, Stephen, Claire, guests and crew have raised £5,055 for the RNLI – with over three weeks still to go before Borealis arrives back in Southampton on 13 May 2023.