Educating passengers important to preserving destination heritage

These were among the key points to emerge from the ‘Protecting & Preserving Destination Heritage’ panel on the second and final day of Seatrade Cruise Med in Malaga, Spain. 

Michele Bosco, manager, shore excursions & operations at Princess Cruises described the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the region as extensive, and listed several cultural and historic gems that sell voyages. UNESCO sites, he said, are ‘absolutely paramount’ to the interest of Princess’ North American passengers. 

Educating passengers 

Marialuisa Iaccarino, MSC Cruises’ head of shore excursions, said ‘informed guests are empowered guests’. She regarded it as the responsibility of cruise lines to inform their guests on rules around conduct or attire at heritage sites. Bosco took this consideration a step further when he said educating passengers should start before guests begin their voyage; people taught the history of their country can ‘transmit’ this to guests, he stated.

Evolving expectations 

Elena Garcia, global key account manager at Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services agreed with the idea of educating passengers before visiting destinations, also noting the importance of doing so during tours. She said trends are changing and ‘we need to take advantage of the new generation coming up.' According to Garcia, younger guests want to feel engaged with the communities visited and leave a positive impact. ‘They want to be away from crowds and feel a connection,’ she added. 

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During tours, for instance, passengers can be told about restaurants that use local products. 

Intercruises tries to ‘add an extra element of education’ for passengers who want to go deeper into a destination, whether or not they are new to cruise. This could mean bringing passengers to certain areas of Pompeii archaeological site in Naples, discovering botanicals in Marseille, delving into embroidery in Croatia or discovering Spain's human towers. Seeing a castell combined with a winery tour is just one example of the opportunities available in Barcelona away from the marquee destination's most visited sites, she said.