In just over a week, Tobago will play host to the leaders of the European cruise industry when it welcomes the Seatrade Caribbean Cruise forum.
The forum will be hosted by the Division of Tourism and Transportation, Tobago House of Assembly (THA) from May 13-14 at the Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort. The forum will showcase the Caribbean and provide attending cruise line executives with an in-depth understanding and intimate knowledge of the region.
The Caribbean has consistently been a favoured choice for cruising. According to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the Caribbean continues to rank as the dominant cruise destination choice; in 2002, 42 per cent of those who cruised chose to do so in the Caribbean and projected figures for 2015 sees the region holding 35 per cent of the global capacity share. With its vast array of ports of call and year-round mild climate, the region has established itself as a popular destination, made for cruising.
The forum will see a series of high-level discussions, with a strong focus on the scope for development and opportunities within the Caribbean. Home-port and infrastructure, new itineraries and Shorex development will be key areas of discussion for those attending the forum.
Confirmed speakers from the European Cruise Lines include Chris Coates Commercial Director, Cruise & Maritime Voyages; Mike Deegan Fleet Director, Noble Caledonia; Claudius Docekal Director, Deployment, Destinations & Charter Sales, Azamara Club Cruises; Christopher Doval, Senior Port Operations Financial Analyst, Worldwide Port Operations, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd; Hans Hesselberg Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations, MSC Cruises; James Langley Marine Superintendent, Saga Cruises; Michael Pawlus Director of Strategic Itinerary Planning & Scheduling, Silversea Cruises Ltd and Steven Young Director of Port Services & Government Affairs, Carnival UK.
Key industry leaders will also be speaking at the conference.
Tobago has witnessed a 200 per cent growth in its cruise sector in the 2014/2015 period, fuelled mainly by jump in calls from European cruise liners.
The Seatrade Caribbean Cruise Forum will exclusively provide ports and tourism authorities the opportunity to meet cruise line executives via pre-arranged, one to one meetings. It is a unique one and a half day event tailored to showcase the Caribbean to European cruise lines.
The event will provide participating cruise lines with an intimate knowledge and understanding of the region, to help them to assess the possibilities for deployment and increased port calls. This two-way educational programme will also enable the regional port and tourism authorities, and other cruise industry stakeholders, to better understand the infrastructure, port, service and shorex requirements of the cruise lines.
Seatrade's Cruise Forums form part of the series of global Seatrade events, websites and publications that covers every aspect of the cruise and maritime industries, bringing together key people to encourage innovation and to produce powerful learning, networking and promotional platforms.
Founded in 1970, Seatrade was acquired recently in 2014 by UBM, the world's second largest media and event organiser.