The fourth Madrid international Cruise Summit took place on 12th and 13th of November. Alan Lam reports.
Representatives from most major cruise lines, European ports, travel agents, suppliers and the press were among the 260 or so delegates. The focus of this year’s discussion was firmly on the expectations for ports and destinations. With the coming of Asia cruise tourists in large numbers, the question was asked if the ports and destinations in Europe were ready for this influx.
Outside of Asia, Mediterranean ports are believed to be the ones that will draw the biggest number of Chinese cruise tourists in the coming years.
To benefit from this new source of income, during the summit, cruise lines and industry professionals were calling for ports to facilitate a “multiagency” approach to attracting cruise calls, by looking at the bigger economic benefits of cruise tourism and catering for the tastes and expectations of these newly minted visitors.
In this regard, a lot had been achieved and much more needed to be done, the delegates were told.
One of our correspondents was again invited as speaker at the summit. A detailed report and analysis of the issues raised will be published in a full-length article in the next edition of Cruise Business Review.