New CLIA Europe chair spells out his vision with four Cs

Speaking in London during the inaugural CLIA Executive Partner Conference dinner, the new chair said, 'with the change in the geopolitical climate it is difficult to predict where our business is going but what is definitely happening is the cruise industry is growing and has committed to grow with all the new tonnage arriving between 2017-19.'

The Celestyal Cruises ceo added, 'so we know what we are faced with and I have drawn up what I am calling the four Cs on how to proceed to meet the challenges ahead, namely: conversion, conservation, congestion and collaboration.

'First question is how does the industry convert people to choose cruising above all other vacations?' he asked. 'If the vessels are not filled then we will be in trouble.

'The key is working collaboratively with travel agents and giving them the tools on how to approach the conversion process.'

On conservation, Anastassiadis asked: 'how is cruising perceived by society at large and what are our credentials from environmental and corporate social responsibility aspects?'

He said, 'In Europe many ports are found in the city or town centres so ports are part of the very fabric of the city's society and naturally people will ask when they see these ships what effect is that having in my local community?

'It is our responsiblity to educate local communities and consumers how seriously the cruise sector takes the environment. Ninety-five percent of the cruise ships are built in European yards using mainly European technology. We have the best in class in all technical areas so CLIA Europe members need to take the lead, together with the technical suppliers, and deliver a message on the environmental stewardship onboard our ships,' he remarked.

On congestion: ‘The reality is, many destinations are feeling the impact from increasingly larger ships bringing in big numbers of passengers. Often it's perception more than reality when you look at the wider tourism sector but we need to address this and in a spirit of collaboration, CLIA Europe needs to actively work together with ports and port associations and go together to meet with EU legislators or local authorities or communities to put forward our collective views,’ the new chair said.

The final C is doing all the above collaboratively, Anastassiadis concluded: 'If we address the issues holistically then together we will make sure the future is built in a collaborative way.'

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