Olbia in North Sardinia, Italy will be the host of the 47th MedCruise General Assembly to be held 14-17 October 2015.
During the General Assembly meeting, MedCruise member representatives together with other esteemed guests will discuss the latest developments of the cruise industry, as well as the implications and prospects of cruising in the Med and its adjoining seas.
In line with the MedCruise tradition, all regular and associate members will have a first class opportunity to discuss the developments in the region, while they will also devote time in B2B meetings and interactive Workshops with esteemed cruise line executives.
A special session of the 47th GA will be devoted to the efforts of MedCruise to promote its member ports as the mostly preferred cruise destination among Chinese cruise tourists.
A number of workshops will also take place, allowing cruise ports and their associates to engage in depth discussions with participating cruise line executives.
The list of cruise line guests has already started expanding. Among the first cruise line executives that confirmed their attendance are Kerry Anastassiadis (Celestyal), Sander Groothuis (Windstar), Adam Sharp (Royal Caribbean), Javier Rodriguez Sanchez (Pullmantur), Marcus Puttich and Tine Oelmann (TUI).
Several more are expected to confirm over the next days, transforming the MedCruise GA to the key Autumn 2015 cruise event in the Med.
This edition’s host, Port of Olbia, forms today the main doorway to Sardinia. Besides being one of the most important passenger ports in the Mediterranean with four million passengers every year, is also an important trading port with nearly six million tons of goods, annually. Large cruise ships are handled in Isola Bianca wharf, whilst smaller ships can tie alongside the Interior berths site of Olbia’s ancient Roman port.
Kissed by sun, caressed by sea waves, surrounded by a unique, unspoiled natural scenario, North Sardinia has three cruise ports: Olbia, Golfo Aranci and Porto Torres. Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans all left their mark on the territory. This history is still alive in well preserved remains, fully accessible to cruise passengers. The land expresses itself via several different environments – sea, plains, hills, mountains, cultivated fields and desert areas. Several oak forests fill out the landscape; from them cork is extracted whilst nearby is the exclusive Costa Smeralda, a luxury resort created in the 1960s by the Aga Khan IV.
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Did you know? MedCruise GA Participants are engaged in fruitful workshops In the last General Assembly, MedCruise introduced a number of new futures in the two days program of the event. Cruise line participants and MedCruise members enjoyed workshop meetings with lively interactions that produced interesting recommendations. The MedCruise Newsletter reminds the key recommendations of the 46th MedCruise General Assembly, as reported by the guest journalist Jon Ingleton: Recommendations Destination • Enhance the guest welcome
• Deliver strong first impressions at port
• Create destination stakeholder groups
• Engage city/tourist board
• Share guest satisfaction ratings
• Consider free wifi in port
Infrastructure • Synergy between port terminal, airport and line
• Flexibility to cope with peak time demands
• Create standard port infrastructure guidelines
Traffic & competition • Home and transit port collaboration to set itinerary standards
• Create destination demand within source markets
• Public and transparent berthing policy
• Create demand for year round cruising
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