Among the 2,000 participants at the Cruise Lines International Association event, located at the Jean Nouvel Pavilion of the Genoa Fair, are 150 speakers and 120 stands representing 180 exhibiting companies.
Speaking at a press conference at the opening of the event, Jason Liberty, CLIA chairman and the president and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group said, ‘The CLIA Cruise Week provides a very unique platform to convene, connect and collaborate. We are grateful to be joined by senior government representatives from all across Europe, cruise industry leaders and more. Partnerships and collaborations are critical to our industry, especially as we continue to make progress in the maritime industry's environmental transition.
‘Therefore, as the new CLIA global chairman, I am very interested in being able to collaborate with all the leaders in our industry during this cruise week, and also to continue working towards our goal of net zero emissions by 2050.’
CLIA’s former chairman and MSC Group’s executive chairman for cruise, Pierfrancesco Vago, remarked, ‘This event represents a great bet won both for Genoa and for Italy. From here the gotha of the international cruise industry will in fact define the scenarios of the entire sector for the years to come.
‘Cruises are a very important sector, in which Italy is a leader in Europe and whose effects have a strong tourist and economic impact. The development of this sector thus becomes a crucial element for the development of cutting-edge technologies, for the growth of the territories and for employment.’
Innovation Expo
For the first time, the CLIA European Summit is combined with a cruise sector fair called CLIA Innovation Expo, with stands and exhibiting companies coming from all Europe. ‘I am delighted to have returned to Genoa this week for our third European Summit and, this time, for our very first European Cruise Week featuring our inaugural Innovation Expo,’ commented Marie-Caroline Laurent, CLIA’s director general for Europe. ‘We have expanded our vision of building an event at the service of our cruise line members and partners. We are bringing here our whole community together to exchange ideas and debate our policy priorities, and to discover new solutions, and new products.
‘Around a third of the people you will meet here in the exhibition are new to cruise and are here to meet all industry and explore all the opportunities that it can offer. The Innovation Expo is a true showcase of creative concepts, new technologies and visionary ideas.’
Spotlight on Italy
The event has been organized by CLIA in collaboration with the Liguria Region, Genoa Municipality, the Port Authority of the Western Ligurian Sea and Genoa Chamber of Commerce.
Paolo Piacenza, commissioner for the Port Authority of the Western Ligurian Sea, described the event as ‘giving global prestige to the City of Genoa and the ports of the Western Ligurian Sea system - a leading destination in the Mediterranean chosen by over 2.5m cruise passengers in 2023…’ Giovanni Toti, president of the Liguria Region, said Liguria receives 23% of Italy’s cruise calls.
Mauro Ferrando, president of the Porto Antico of Genoa, Francesco Galietti, national director for CLIA in Italy, Luigi Attanasio, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Mayor of Genoa Marco Bucci also spoke at the opening of CLIA Cruise Week.
