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Gibraltar hosts 50th MedCruise General Assembly

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L-R: Chief executive, Gibraltar Tourist Board Nicky Guerrero, MedCruise secretary general Thanos Pallis and president Kristijan Pavic
The 50th MedCruise General Assembly is taking place this week in Gibraltar with around 120 representatives from MedCruise port and associate members, cruise line executives and media meeting to discuss latest developments in the cruise sector, as well as the implications and prospects of cruising in the Mediterranean and its adjoining seas.

This the second time that Gibraltar hosts the General Assembly, the last time was in 2006. ’Eleven years ago around 60 delegates gathered for the GA, whilst today that number has doubled, underscoring both the expansion of the association’s membership and also our willingness to travel to meet and discuss areas of mutual co-operation,’ noted Nicky Guerrero, chief executive, Gibraltar Tourist Board.

During the event delegates including cruise line representatives, Spyros Almpertis (Silversea), Kerry Anastassiadis (Celestyal and chair of CLIA Europe), Paul Britton (Disney), Alessandro Carollo (RCI/Celebrity and Azamara), Claudius Dockecal (Crystal Cruises), James Gardiner (Carnival UK), James Langley (Saga) and Luigi Pastena (MSC) will also get a chance to know Gibraltar and its shorex offering.

All the delegates have been invited to the Queen’s Birthday Parade on Thursday and the Board of Directors of MedCruise have been invited to the Garden Party.

Kristian Pavic, MedCruise president said, ‘It is with great pleasure to return to Gibraltar, a destination offering premier cruise opportunities, and celebrate together the 50th edition of the MedCruise General Assembly. In 2016, MedCruise membership welcomed 27.4m cruise passenger movements and 13,500 cruise calls.’

He continued, ‘This week in Gibraltar, cruise ports and partners will discuss with cruise lines executives how to achieve sustainable growth of cruise in the region and further benefit from it.’

Thanos Pallis, MedCruise secretary general added, ‘Set up in 1996, MedCruise has grown to a membership of more than 100 ports in 20 countries and 34 associate members.’

Minister for Tourism and the Port, Gilbert Licudi QC said, ‘We are proud to be a founding member of MedCruise and we are honoured that the Association has chosen to meet here for the second time in its 21-year history.’

Hosting the meeting is another evident step taken by the Government to support this industry, which is so valuable to our local tourism, leisure and retail businesses, he added.

MedCruise was set up in Rome in June 1996.