PORT OF TARANTO, 15 April 2024 - For the first time together in the prestigious context of the Seatrade Cruise Global in Miami, on 10 April the International Associations - MedCruise - The Association of Mediterranean Cruise Ports and AIVP – Association International Villes et Ports officially presented the publication “CRUISE PORT CITY COMPASS – Global cases inspiring sustainable connections & communities”, the first joint work of the two Associations dedicated to the sustainable development of the relationship between cruises, ports and cities.
The Port of Taranto is among the promoters of the initiative. The Compass presentation was, in fact, entrusted to the two project coordinators: Noemi Frascella, of the International Relations and Communication Section of the Port Network Authority of the Ionian Sea (as Medcruise Director of the Port & City Relationships task) and José Sánchez, Director of Agenda 2030 by AIVP, Projects and Content Member of the Management Committee, both leading the “Cruises & Port Cities” working group launched by the two international associations in 2021. The document is designed as a “compass” for cruise ports and their communities, and aims to contribute to the ongoing dialogue by integrating the actions developed at the European and global level by the main institutions, associations and entities committed to the sustainable development of cruise tourism and port-city relations.
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The publication involved 15 international cruise ports belonging to the AIVP-Medcruise Working Group (Barcelona, Cartagena, Livorno, Genoa, Galataport Istanbul, Taranto, Malaga, Lisbon, La Spezia, Valencia, Venice, Ceuta, Port St. John, Quebec, and Bordeaux) representing as many as 7 Countries around the world. The port surveys highlighted best practices in environmental protection and energy transition, waterfront and port-city interface regeneration, governance policies and management of the economic impact generated by the cruise industry.
Trois-Rivière (Canada), Marseille (France) and Dubrovnik (Croatia) are the 3 cities featured in the publication, which show as many stages of development of the cruise sector in the context of the port cities, highlighting how, in addition to the role of Port Authorities and Municipalities, there are numerous stakeholders who play a key role in building a sustainable port-city relationship.
Wabtec and Global Ports Holding have instead shown the point of view of the 2 Private Companies that, each in its own operational field, highlighted some of the most relevant processes in the complex mechanism of development and growth of the cruise sector and the impact it can have in port cities around the world.
Finally, the publication provided an opportunity to broaden the scope of the investigation to include other international bodies, scholars and institutions active in the cruise sector, with the aim of triggering a multi-level collaboration process. Among them were Thanos Pallis, Professor of Port & Shipping Economics and Policy at the Department of Maritime Studies, University of Piraeus, Greece; Marie Caroline Laurent, Director General of CLIA Europe; Francesco di Cesare, President of Risposte Turismo; Valeria Mangiarotti, President of ESPO's Cruise & Ferry Network; and Stéphan Rousseau, Tim Amabile and Marion Brichet of the French government's Direction Interrégionale de la Mer Méditerranée.
“Cruise Port City Compass”: download the publication!
