“Top 20” of Mediterranean ports, Trapani + 10.6%. The results announced today, in Cagliari, at “Italian Cruise Day”

The state, the forecasts and the prospects of the cruise industry in Italy, from the investments of companies and leads to the potentialities of the product, from the construction of the itineraries to the relations within the production chain. And again, innovation in the sector as a driving force for growth in the future, the relationship between the flows of cruise tourists and destinations, the development models of the country’s cruise terminals and the attention and commitment of the cruise industry to protection and respect of the environment. These are the main themes of the ninth edition of the Italian Cruise Day, the annual reference forum in Italy for the cruise sector conceived and organized by Risposte Turismo – a research and consultancy company serving the macro-tourism industry – this year in partnership with the Department of Tourism, Crafts and Trade of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia and with the support of Clia Europe, which took place today at the Ex Manifattura Tabacchi in Cagliari. Over 200 cruise operators discussed the progress, prospects and challenges of the Italian cruise industry. Here are some numbers. There are 9 Italian airports in the “top 20” of the Mediterranean cruise ports and, among these, also Palermo which, estimates for 2019, place 19th with 570.5 thousand passengers handled and 156 ship touched, slightly down on 2018 for number of passengers handled (-1.29%), more markedly for number of berths (-9.30%). Essentially, the numbers for 2018 have been maintained – the decrease in calls is due to the increased capacity of the ships that have arrived – despite the current port-yard, an indispensable step for writing other numbers in the future.

 

Increase for Trapani, which will grow by 10.6% at the end of 2019.

 

“We are delighted with our growth and our roadmap – explains Pasqualino Monti, president of the Western Sicily Sea Port Authority (photo below)- and aware that, to improve the numbers, infrastructure must be strengthened. “AdSP, respecting the times, is moving forward quickly. The market has noticed this and is enjoying our work. The numbers in the future will be very different: the real appointment for us will be the Italian Cruise Day of 2021”.

 

 

Sicily is confirmed, with its 11 cruise ports, in 5th place nationally, after Liguria, Lazio, Veneto and Campania, with 1,304,642 passengers and 719 dockings, a 10.7% increase in cruise passengers and a decrease, – 2.4, of touches, always due to the larger size of the ships, in general in Italy, at the end of 2019, growth is expected both in the number of passengers handled – just over 12 million (they will exceed 13 million in 2020), + 8.8% on 2018 – both for ship touchers (4,857, + 3.2% for 2018). In addition, Italy is a leader in terms of economic and employment impacts: of the 19.7 billion direct expenses in Europe estimated by CLIA, the shipowners’ association, in the last Contribution of Cruise Tourism to the Economies of Europe, 5.46 are at advantage of Italy, and of the 403,000 jobs generated in the continent, 119,000 are Italians. It also leads the ranking by number of companies that have chosen to climb in the ports of the peninsula. “The investments and the commitment of the operators, and of course the favorable morphology as well as the historical, artistic and landscape richness, have contributed to determine the Italian leadership at the Mediterranean and European level,” said Francesco di Cesare, president of Risposte Turismo. “In an increasingly competitive international context, Italy confirms itself as the leading nation in Europe, and among the main ones in the world, in the cruise sector. It is a leadership of traffic, of economic and employment repercussions, of involvement of ports and territories, of participation in the business by a wide category of companies. To consolidate this position, and possibly make it grow further, mutual knowledge – particularly between companies and ports – of priorities, intentions and areas for improvement is essential, understanding once and for all that there can be no structural growth even if only one of the rings of the gear did not find the necessary conditions to operate and to aim at its own growth objectives. The cruise industry represents a positive example within an overall Italian economy which, as is known, accuses backward delays and recessionary curves on many other businesses. As such it must be defended, strengthened and encouraged “.

Sicily is confirmed, with its 11 cruise ports, in 5th place nationally, after Liguria, Lazio, Veneto and Campania, with 1,304,642 passengers and 719 dockings, a 10.7% increase in cruise passengers and a decrease, – 2.4, of touches, always due to the larger size of the ships, in general in Italy, at the end of 2019, growth is expected both in the number of passengers handled – just over 12 million (they will exceed 13 million in 2020), + 8.8% on 2018 – both for ship touchers (4,857, + 3.2% for 2018). In addition, Italy is a leader in terms of economic and employment impacts: of the 19.7 billion direct expenses in Europe estimated by CLIA, the shipowners’ association, in the last Contribution of Cruise Tourism to the Economies of Europe, 5.46 are at advantage of Italy, and of the 403,000 jobs generated in the continent, 119,000 are Italians. It also leads the ranking by number of companies that have chosen to climb in the ports of the peninsula. “The investments and the commitment of the operators, and of course the favorable morphology as well as the historical, artistic and landscape richness, have contributed to determine the Italian leadership at the Mediterranean and European level,” said Francesco di Cesare, president of Risposte Turismo. “In an increasingly competitive international context, Italy confirms itself as the leading nation in Europe, and among the main ones in the world, in the cruise sector. It is a leadership of traffic, of economic and employment repercussions, of involvement of ports and territories, of participation in the business by a wide category of companies. To consolidate this position, and possibly make it grow further, mutual knowledge – particularly between companies and ports – of priorities, intentions and areas for improvement is essential, understanding once and for all that there can be no structural growth even if only one of the rings of the gear did not find the necessary conditions to operate and to aim at its own growth objectives. The cruise industry represents a positive example within an overall Italian economy which, as is known, accuses backward delays and recessionary curves on many other businesses. As such it must be defended, strengthened and encouraged “.