"PP SPb MF" PLC representatives at Seatrade Europe 2017
12 September 2017
From 6 - 8 September 2017 specialized exhibition Seatrade Europe 2017 was held in Hamburg (Germany). This event is considered to be one of the largest event in Europe, which biyearly gathers together more than 5 000 representatives of the leading cruise corporations, major seaports, shipbuilders, tour operators and ship owners.
Within the framework of the international exhibition, management of "PP SPb MF" PLC held a number of business meetings with the cruise companies and associations representatives, such as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Viking Ocean Cruises and CLIA Europe, during which the parties discussed prospects for further productive cooperation and talked about the development of the cruise industry in the Baltic Sea region and in St. Petersburg in particular.
The parties shared their opinions on the results of the experiment organized by the Port of August 15, 2017 to regulate the entry of tour operators’ vehicles, considered the current issues of regulating the arrival time of large vessels and the need to control the passengers disembarking by the ship's crew. Also they discussed the possibility of increasing the number of cruise ship calls of large dimensions to the Passenger port of St. Petersburg, the main factors of the passenger traffic growth in the coming years, as well as advanced solutions and the port possibilities for servicing cruise tourists.
As it was noted during discussions, setting up the most modern and capacious cruise vessels in the Baltic Sea region allows to count on the sustainable development of cruise tourism in St. Petersburg. Cruise season 2017 promises to have a record number of ship calls in the Port’s history, which is connected with tourists’ sustained interest in visiting Saint Petersburg. According to the applications received from cruise lines, in 2017 the port will receive over 540,000 tourists and over 240 cruise ships, and this list is growing in diversity with each year.
During the business meetings, the representatives of the cruise lines expressed their full satisfaction with the quality of the services rendered in the Passenger port of St. Petersburg and indicated the intentions in the future for active cooperation and confirmed the desire to bring new ships to the Port.
Also, within the framework of the exhibition, "PP SPb MF" PLC representatives took part in specialized conference "CLIA Ports & Destinations Forum", dedicated to the prospects and problems of the cruise industry development, in particular, the policy of berths allocation, and also visited the official reception of the International Cruise Association - Cruise Europe, where the parties further discussed the plan for the next Cruise Europe conference in St. Petersburg from April 24 - 26, 2018.
It is worth noting that this year at the international exhibition Cruise Europe one of the most significant events was the "St. Petersburg City Day", which was held on September 6th at the stand of the Passenger Port of St. Petersburg. Within the framework of the event, both business and entertainment programs were held. So, the representatives of "PP SPb MF" PLC represented by General Director Vadim Kashirin and Commercial Director Alexey Panfilov spoke at a conference on city events and the development of cruise tourism in St. Petersburg.
Within the entertainment show program for guests and participants of the exhibition the bright creative team of Song and Dance Ensemble of the Western Military District "White Nights" performed with Russian folk songs and dances.
The celebration of “St. Petersburg City Day” is timed to the 60th anniversary of the friendly and partnership relations between the sister cities of Hamburg and St. Petersburg establishment. Earlier, on September 01st “PP SPb MF” PLC representatives as a part of St. Petersburg delegation headed by St Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko paid an official visit to Hamburg (Germany), when during the visit a Memorandum of Understanding Between Passenger Port of St. Petersburg “Marine Façade” PLC and Port of Hamburg was signed.
"PP SPb MF" PLC is planning to take part in the Seatrade Global expo in collaboration with the main companies of St. Petersburg tourist industry next year from 5 - 8 March in Fort Lauderdale, USA.
