The Port of Valencia prepares to receive the cruise passengers in the “new normality”
The Port Authority of Valencia (APV) is working in coordination with all the agents in the cruise sector to prepare for the new normality and to receive the thousands of cruise passengers who arrive in the Valencia’s water when the different Administrations give the authorisation for these operations, the company said in its release.
Valenciaport has organized a digital workshop “Preparing the Port and the destination in a coordinated way for the arrival of cruises”, in collaboration with Cruises News Media Group, in which topics such as the issuing markets, the key factors for the return of cruises, the calendar for returning to operations, the recommendations of the Ministry of Transport for the ports and their practical application or the trends in the destination of post-Covid-19 cruises among others have been addressed.
The workshop was attended by the entire port community of Valencia and began with the words of Mar Chao, commercial director of the PAV to emphasize “the importance of being informed and working in tune to be able to anticipate and be prepared when the Administration gives the green light to cruise operations. The session was attended by Virginia López Valiente, Managing Director of Cruises News Media Group, Luis de Carvalho, CEO of Bermello Ajamil & Partners Europe, and Ramon Hurtado, Global Product & Operations Manager of Intercruises Shoreside & Port Service.
The experts agree that the new situation after the Covid-19 will bring with it differentiated business opportunities in which those specialized destinations will stand out, not overcrowded and focused on the offer of experiences, such as the alternatives offered by Valencia and its province. All the speakers have transferred from their perspectives, the current situation of the industry, the keys to recovery of the sector, the reactivation of operations that are taking place in other countries and the measures that are being implemented as well as those that the cruise companies are presenting to the authorities and those that these will regulate with total security.
In this sense, Virginia López, as an expert in the global cruise industry, urged the participants to work on the premise of creating new strategies for cruise tourism, understanding that the industry has changed and this is the time to analyze and work on the future plan for cruises in Valencia.
Luis de Carvalho, an expert consultant on cruise destinations, has provided detailed information on the recovery scenarios as well as the modifications that are being considered in other countries in the cruise terminals. For his part, Ramón Hurtado analysed the different measures that his company is implementing both in port and on excursions.
All the professionals agreed that although the Spanish authorities have not presented the definitive regulations, there are many protocols that are already known to be essential, so it is time to address them and thus be able to be in line when the cruise ships are allowed to dock in Spain. It is also the time – as discussed in the workshop – to prepare proposals for the cruise liners, based on culture, gastronomy or visits to unique enclaves where they can live experiences to remember.
In the Valencian Community, an example in this line is that recently announced by the city of Llíria to incorporate the tourist offer of the city among the cultural products and differentiated experiences for the cruisers that arrive at the Port of Valencia. Thus, projects such as “Llíria, Symphony of Cultures” or the tourist route of the “Llíria Historic” along which the Roman Mausoleums, the Roman Baths of Mura, the Arab Baths, the Church of the Blood, the palace of Ca la Vila, or the facade of the parish church of the Assumption, are all attractive for cruise tourism. To these proposals we can add the gastronomic offer and the music that characterize the city.
