MedCruise meets in Turkey
By
Michele Witthaus |
The 43rd MedCruise General Assembly took place in Alanya, Turkey, from 13-15 November 2013.
On 14 November, MedCruise secretary general, Thanos Pallis, introduced a presentation of the MedCruise Port Finance Study. Report author, Hugues Lamy of Cruise Management Consulting, said it was designed to provide member ports with ways of financing cruise infrastructure and access to best practice. Lamy said that ownership of ports in the region was 33% private, 41% public and 27% public-private partnerships and that privatisation was a growing trend in the Mediterranean.
During a panel discussion on 15 November, representatives of several cruise lines and port agencies discussed issues affecting cruise activity in the region.
Justin Poulsen, manager, deployment and itinerary planning, Holland America Line, said the 2013 season had seen passenger days in this area exceeding 515,000, although regional crises had had an impact on growth. “We had planned an increase in the Eastern Mediterranean but pulled back due to travel warnings for Egypt, escalating conflict in Syria and fears of a spillover into Turkey.”
Rob Roberts, manager, shore excursions and itineraries for Princess Cruises, said: “Several Eastern Mediterranean ports, including Haifa, Ashdod and Cairo, have high marquee value. However, recent regional political instability has made it difficult to plan itineraries here.” Claudius Docekal, deployment and destinations, Azamara Club Cruises, said: “We have eliminated North Africa from our cruise itineraries through 2015.”
Public-private partnerships for port development came under the spotlight, including the challenges faced when projects are held up by geopolitical and other difficulties. Regarding a joint expansion plan for the port of Istanbul that has been put on hold, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd’s director, port business development and asset management, Miguel Reyna, said: “Istanbul would be a great port to develop for cruise itineraries as it would benefit not only Turkey but the whole region.” But he said RCL was still committed to the Mediterranean: “Customer interest is huge.”
The impact of Schengen visa restrictions on cruise tourism was a hot topic for discussion. Erkunt Oner, president and CEO of Tura Turizm, remarked: “Turkey can serve as a hub for the region’s tourism but the visa issue is a challenge. As long as we have the Schengen barrier we cannot go forward.” He said that although cruise passengers were exempt from visa requirements in Turkey, there was a need to work together with all countries in the region to extend this exemption to cruise passengers.
Niche cruise providers expressed satisfaction with cruise growth in the region. Disney Cruises’ director, global port operations and developments, Russell Daya, said his company was pressing ahead with plans to start sailing from Venice, despite uncertainty over the future for large ships in the city. “We are expanding our European offerings in 2014 and our outlook for the Mediterranean in particular is very positive.” Windstar Cruises’ director of marine operations, Sander Groothuis, said: “We spend about seven months of the year in Europe, most of it in the Eastern Mediterranean. We are usually the guinea pigs for new destinations; if ports invest in small ships, large ones will follow.” Thomas Rucht, head of port operations for TUI Cruises, said that the region had long been popular with his guests, with room for growth in the east. “Germans love the Mediterranean, with first-time cruisers visiting the Western Mediterranean. The Eastern Mediterranean is still viewed by many as somewhat exotic and oriental.”
Sustainability for both ports and their cruise visitors was continuing to grow in importance in the region, said Mark Robinson, managing director of Intercruises. “It is important to appoint suppliers who provide accredited best practice.” Clean port technologies in focus for Intercruises’ clients included shorepower, scrubber bonnets and waste reception facilities, he added.
