MedCruise General Assembly No. 30 in Sochi 17/05/2007 17th and 18th May, Sochi. The port of Sochi, Russia, is hosting MedCruise’s 30th General Assembly on May 17th and 18th, which in this occasion will have a special focus on the cruise industry in the Black Sea.   Approximately 50 delegates from 35 Mediterranean and Black Sea ports will attend the meeting, this time with the participation of special guests from Holland America, Princess Cruises and Seabourn.   The media representatives attending this event will be Mary Bond from Seatrade Cruise Review, Sue Parker from Lloyd’s Cruise International, and Chris Ashcroft from Dream World Cruise Destinations.   On May 17th the General Assembly and press conference will take place and afterwards the Government of Krasnodar region is sponsoring a gala dinner for members and guests.   Some of the topics in the agenda are Discussion of MedCruise Comments on Green Paper, Professional Development Course 2007, Economic Impact Study (MedCruise Economic Impact Report), 2006 Traffic and 2007 Projections, Black Sea Report and Adriatic Sea Report.   While the GA Session takes place, a guided tour will be offered to the special guests, including inspection of port facilities and meetings with local officials.   On May 18th cruise line executives will give their presentations which will lead to workshops with the member’s participation.   The invited speakers are: Simon Douwes                       Director, Deployment and itinerary Planning. Holland America. Bruce Krumrine                     Vice President, Shore Operations – Europe and Exotics. Princess Cruises.  Peter Cox                              Director, Itinerary and Land Development. Seabourn. Peter Parinov                          Head of Port Authority of St. Petesburg.   Following their messages and workshops, MedCruise will offer the opportunity of business-to-business meetings to be conducted between cruise line directors and MedCruise member port representatives.   In the afternoon, the General Assembly will conclude with a Black Sea Roundtable, as the focus of this General Assembly. Additionally, as a courtesy of the port of Sochi and with the sponsor of the Olympic Committee of the Russian Federation, on May 19th attendees will be offered the chance to take part in a visit to the ski resort of Krasnaya Polyana, in the Caucasus, which has been proposed as a location to bid for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.