The kick-off meeting of the Working Group, based on some of the main European Cruise ports, took place today in Venice. A representative of the International Transport Forum also attended the meeting.
The delegations of seven of the main cruise destinations in Europe, namely Amsterdam, Palma de Mallorca, Bergen, Cannes, Dubrovnik, Malaga, Marseille Fos, have answered to the impulse received by the Port of Venice during the last summer with the “CRUISE 2030 CALL FOR ACTION”.
The main goal of the initiative is to delineate a common platform of customized strategies to support the development of the cruise industry in a sustainable manner, with the aim of matching more the needs of the industry with the demands of the Cities and territories.
Participants have all agreed upon the importance of the economical and occupational aspects of the cruise industry but, at the same time, they have found fundamental the need to intervene in a coordinated way to reduce or eliminate the impacts and burdens related to the Cruise industry, rethinking together with the operators the business model so far adopted.
During the meeting, each port had the opportunity to underline and point out the main issues faced, and how these are tackled. In order to achieve a better understanding, the Port of Venice has performed a survey and an assessment to individuate the specific needs and actions necessary for each port.
The next meeting has been already decided and scheduled for next January and it will be hosted by the Port of Palma de Mallorca. In the meanwhile the participants have agreed to work towards the drafting of a common action plan with the aim to prepare the next meeting with a statement to approve collectively and adopt as a working document.
After an initial moment, the ice was broken and the participants found a natural common sensitivity towards the issues and how to deal with them.
Many topics were discussed, the most significant points can be summarised as follows:
• All ports confirm their commitment on tackling the environmental aspects, especially on reducing emissions, with specific solutions being designed in the different ports.
• There is the need to find a workable and feasible compromise between the sizes of the vessel and the geographical and physical characteristics of the European ports, many of them are in fact significantly different from the ports of the rest of the world.
• The need to improve the organisational aspect of the whole chain, in order to minimise the impact of congestions and of the negative effects on the urban mobility and the quality of life in each destination.
• The need to assess in a scientific, fact-based, figure-based, manner the impacts and implications of the cruise industry on ports and their surrounding areas.
• In doing so, there is the need to build a social, environmental and economic acceptability towards the industry from cities, regions, citizens.
Ufficio stampa Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare Adriatico Settentrionale – Adnkronos Comunicazione
Andrea Nalon +39 328 0885794 andrea.nalon@adnkronos.com – Andrea Altinier +39 344 0641893 andrea.altinier@adnkronos.com