Toulon cruise industry familiarisation trip 10/10/2008 Toulon cruise industry familiarisation trip 26-28 September 2008 "Toulon – Var – Provence, an area to discover!"   In furthering its promotional strategy, the Port of Toulon’s cruise team organised an exclusive discovery weekend in southern France’s Var – Provence region for cruise companies and ship agents on 26 to 28 September.   Representatives of Fred Olsen Cruise Line, Croisifrance / Louis Cruise Line, Compagnie des Iles du Ponant, Cruise Management Consulting and MedCruise attended the event.   During these three highly condensed days, in a delightful scenery and warm atmosphere mixing business and relaxation, the participants had the opportunity to enjoy various visits and activities such as a kart challenge on the famous “Circuit Paul Ricard” High Tech Test Track and a golf initiation on one of the most famous golf courses of the area, the “Dolce Fregate Golf Club”, set upon bluffs overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.   On passengers’ footsteps, the guests inspected the Port of Toulon, its cruise facilities and its immediate surroundings: the marina, a Provençal street market (the biggest one in Provence), shopping streets in the historic quarter, and Toulon’s Haussmannian district (designed by the famous French urbanist, Baron von Haussmann). The participants sampled a variety of shore excursions usually proposed to cruise passengers such as the very charming fishing village and intellectual enclave, Sanary-sur-Mer; wine and olive oil tasting in a traditional vineyard property with millennium-old olive trees; and the historical medieval hilltop village of Le Castellet with its Romanesque church, tiny pedestrian streets and authentic crafts boutiques.   Full of magnificent images and beautiful memories, cruise industry representatives left for home with the strong conviction that many unknown treasures lie hidden in Toulon and the Var region - treasures that remain to be discovered.   The weekend ended with a hearing at the Var Chambre of Commerce and Industry on cruise tourism, port infrastructure and the local economy on Monday, 29 September, with presentations by John Tercek, vice president at Royal Caribbean International, and José Campos, secretary general, MedCruise.   Press Contacts : Delphine BEUDIN: +33 494 228 818 / + 33 627 950 698 / delphine.beudin@var.cci.fr Anne-Marie BLUM: +33 494 008 407 / anne-marie.blum@var.cci.fr   Foto captions:   Foto 1: Yannis VASSILAKOPOULOS, CroisiFrance; Jérôme OUDIN, Compagnie des Iles du Ponant; Hugues LAMY, Cruise Management Consulting; José CAMPOS, MedCruise; Mary BOND, Seatrade; Tim MOORE, Fred.Olsen Cruises, at Toulon's cruise terminal. Foto 2: Participants at the Fontaine de la Fédération on Toulon's Place de la Liberté.