The 54th General Assembly of the Mediterranean Cruise Ports Association (MedCruise), hosted by Ege Port Kuşadası, part of Global Ports Holding, the world's largest cruise port operator, is the stage for the global cruise industry to meet in Turkey. Among the participants are vice presidents and senior executives of 14 of the world's leading cruise companies such as Royal Carribbean, Celestyal, MSC and Carnival.
MedCruise President Airam Diaz Pastor said, “During our general assembly, Kusadasi became the capital of the world cruise industry. In the Eastern Mediterranean, where Kusadasi is located, this year the number of passengers is expected to increase by 22 percent and ship dockings to ports by 20 percent. Kusadasi is making a comeback. Many ships are turning their routes to Kuşadası.” Global Ports Holding CEO Emre Sayın said, “Cruise industry players know Turkey very well. However, we wanted them to see it on the spot during the period when the cruise industry is on the rise in our country. We had the opportunity to introduce Kuşadası, Bodrum and Istanbul.”.
The 54th General Assembly of the Mediterranean Cruise Ports Association (MedCruise), the world's largest organization in the cruise industry, is being hosted by Ege Port Kuşadası, a subsidiary of Global Ports Holding, the world's largest cruise port operator. Starting on Tuesday, May 7, the general assembly will end on Friday, May 10.
MedCruise represents 120 cruise ports in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, Red Sea and Near Atlantic, with which it has direct interaction, and its members include cruise ship companies, agencies and tourism associations. Among the participants at the 54th MedCruise General Assembly are the vice presidents and senior executives of 14 of the world's leading cruise companies such as Royal Carribbean, Celestyal, MSC, Carnival.
Kusadasi is coming back
MedCruise President Airam Diaz Pastor said, “During our general assembly, Kusadasi became the capital of the world cruise industry. In the Eastern Mediterranean, where Ege Port Kuşadası, which is hosting our general assembly, is located, passenger numbers are expected to increase by 22 percent this year and ship dockings are expected to increase by 20 percent. This is a very positive development for the whole Mediterranean.” Referring to Kuşadası, Pastor said, “Kuşadası is coming back again. Many ships are turning their routes to Kuşadası.”.
We introduced Bodrum, Istanbul and Kusadasi
Global Ports Holding CEO Emre Sayın pointed out that they took the initiative to organize the 54th General Assembly of MedCruise in Turkey during this period. Sayın said the following: “Cruise industry players know Turkey very well. However, we wanted them to see the cruise industry on the spot when it was on the rise in our country. We had the opportunity to introduce Kuşadası, Bodrum and Istanbul. As you know, there was a decline in cruise tourism in the last two years. Growth started in 2019. Our main goal is to reach our target in 2020 and 2021 and take cruise tourism to the top.’
Aziz Güngör, General Manager of Ege Port Kuşadası, stated that citizens of 60 countries pass through Ege Port Kuşadası during a tourism season. Pointing out that Kuşadası is the port used by 60 percent of cruise tourists coming to Turkey, Güngör said, ’We expect 200 thousand passengers this year. We anticipate that the number will increase even more in 2020.“.
Kuşadası District Governor Sadettin Yücel and Kuşadası Mayor Ömer Günel attended the opening reception on the first day of MedCruise 54th General Assembly. Elçin Şimşek Öncü, Head of Marine Tourism Department at the General Directorate of Investments and Enterprises of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, also attended the General Assembly. Öncü informed the participants of the General Assembly about Turkey's tourism targets and the new cruise port planned to be built in Yenikapı, Istanbul.
Experience shared at the port, history lived at Ephesus
While the participants who came to Kuşadası for the 54th MedCruise General Assembly discussed the future of the industry in the sessions organized, they also visited Ege Port Kuşadası, the cruise port of Global Ports Holding, which ranks the highest in customer satisfaction rankings. The port's best practices and experiences were shared with the participants. In addition to Kuşadası, representatives of cruise ship companies also visited Bodrum with 7 foreign journalists following the General Assembly and had the opportunity to see Bodrum Cruise Port, Bodrum Cruise Port.
The participants spent an evening in the ancient city of Ephesus, which has played a major role in Kusadasi becoming Turkey's leading cruise destination, and enjoyed a gala dinner at the Library of Celsus with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. MedCruise President Airam Diaz Pastor presented a plaque of appreciation to CEO Emre Sayın for Global Ports Holding's support to the General Assembly. On the last day of the event, the closing dinner of the 54th General Assembly of MedCruise will take place at Güvercinada with the support of Kuşadası Municipality.
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