Malaga, Spain, has been the capital of the cruise industry for a week, hosting on the 14th and 15th of September the first Seatrade Cruise Med after the pandemic. The event has been organised in collaboration with Seatrade Cruise and Malaga Port Authority, Malaga City Council, Costa Del Sol and Andalusia Regional Government, with MedCruise as the principal supporter.
More than 150 registered to Seatrade Cruise Med as exhibitors, and thousands of visitors finally came together for the leading exhibition, bringing all the cruise industry professionals in the Mediterranean region and confirming the high professional level of the participants.
MedCruise, the largest cruise ports association in the world, had a strong presence in that strategic gathering with a pavilion of more than 570 square meters offering to all its members and associated members the possibility to be promoted during the exhibition.
MedCruise port and associate members shared their valuable inputs upon insightful conferences or networking events to give a more sustainable approach to the cruise industry. The importance of sharing experiences, best practices, new projects for the future in order to demonstrate how to achieve the complete resumption of the sector and in a more sustainable way were key elements of the discussions.
Adrijo project – a great example of collaboration within Ancona, Ravenna, Venice, Trieste, Rijeka, Zadar, Split, and Dubrovnik ports- presented during a special event hosted in MedCruise stand. The project describes a sea – the Adriatic – that unites two cultural identities as well as two shores and includes the Cultural Network that was established to preserve and promote their common cultural and maritime heritage, a heritage of monuments and of tangible and intangible skills, of the eight Italian and Croatian ports –– by means of an interactive digital portal.
Seatrade Cruise Med has had an intense program of conferences, focusing on specific topics such as the state of the Mediterranean industry, sustainability and the future of the industry involving more than 20 members among the speakers. In addition, several dedicated presentations have been organised by MedCruise members in addition to the several B2B meetings.
MedCruise presented the two major pillars of its strategy for the next years:
I. Sustainability: Sustainability is approached in a holistic, human manner. Collaboration-innovation-implementation of different actions define the #MedCruise4OurPlanet vision and
II. Data governance: MedCruise is currently developing a data governance project, which not only visualises data but implements a data governance structure that will help the organisation tackle a no-man’s-land head-on and assist in taking micro and macro decisions based on accurate and updated data.
During the prestigious ceremony of the Seatrade Cruise Awards, the first MedCruise Special Award was dedicated to the Black Sea Ports. Ms Julia Strikh, External Relations department from Odesa Seaport Authority, kindly accepted the invitation of MedCruise and was exceptionally present to receive the award on behalf of the Black Sea region.
MedCruise President Figen Ayan also participated in the Cruise and Destination Dialogue organised by CLIA association where she emphasised and reconfirm the necessity to work all together towards a more sustainable future.
As a bi-annual key event, within the occasion of the Seatrade Cruise Med, the MedCruise 61st General Assembly was hosted by the Malaga Port Authority. An important moment to discuss and update the members about the many activities of the association and the key 12 tasks held by the board of directors, which will shape the cruise industry.
As President of the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority I would like to take the chance of this Assembly to tell you what a great opportunity joining the MedCruise family represents for us this year: we are really convinced that to overcome this challenging moment for our sector in Venice, now more than ever, we need to share experiences and possible solutions, we need to learn the one from the others, we need to make comparisons with ports facing the same challenges. Joining forces and working together is the only way to design a new model of cruising the Med! We are also confident that finding the right balance in a complex port system such as the one of the Venice Lagoon will be proof that it will be possible everywhere! We will do more than our best to bring our contribution to the team!, stated Fulvio Lino Di Blasio, President of North Adriatic Sea Port Authority.
Furthermore, it was the occasion to welcome one new port member, Port of Ravenna and new associate members, Turklim, the port operators association of Turkey and the Wilehmesen group, which have officially joined the strong MedCruise family.
After the GA in Malaga MedCruise, the largest cruise ports association in the world, is currently representing +145 port and 47 associated members.
We want to thank the Malaga team for the huge work done during the last period to permit the organisation of this important event for the professional of the Med and adjoining sea. After 4 years it will be an emotion to be in Malaga working again side by side together. – Has said Figen Ayan, President of MedCruise.
“I have always loved history and archaeology, so knowing that Malaga, this beautiful southern Spanish port town is one of the oldest cities in the world makes me shiver. While walking in its streets, you literally feel like travelling back in time.
“It takes a long time to become young,” Pablo Picasso once said. He was talking about the kind of art he wanted to create, but he may as well have been speaking of his birthplace, Malaga
So, Seatrade Cruise Med 2022 was in a very inspiring port city, where we discussed key matters where we are redefining the word sustainability to make sure that the ships are welcomed by the local community and that our ports are ready technically.
For more information on the participation of MedCruise at #STCMED 2022 please contact: Aimilia Papachristou, Secretary General, aimilia.papachristou@medcruise.com and/or Anja Lohrum, Senior Secretariat Advisor, anja.lohrum@medcruise.com
