Port&City Relationship director
Taranto, Italy
In recent years, as per direct experience, we realised how crucial it is for everybody at all levels to be a part of a network, a team, a crew! And as a consequence, we also became aware of the human value of associations, especially international ones – as MedCruise is – in bridging people who are geographically distant but feel emotionally close. As a result, MedCruise Association has been a driver for development, bringing about new opportunities for the members of the cruise industry and encouraging the exchange of best practices among cruise-port cities all over the world.
Given their position at the edge of water and land, port-cities are responsible for keeping the continuum from sea to land, facilitating the flows of people, information, goods and thoughts, thus playing an outstanding role in enhancing the bilateral dialogue between their neighbouring community and the people living, working, and acting overseas.
Port citizens are naturally endowed with particular shared values: a special, unique mindset that stems from an innate sense of respect for diversity, enabling them (us) to cope with anthropic challenges as seafarers face sealife dangers.
The new challenge for port-cities, especially as far as the cruise sector is concerned, is to find out the correct language to convey and spread the awareness of an innovative sustainable way of enjoying sea- tourism, educating stakeholders and passengers through a conscious understanding of their role and commitment within the cruise industry.
The task, or better said, the duty is to carry out, together, the promotion of sustainable cruise tourism. Furthermore, to provide a long-lasting source of inspiration based on a mutual understanding of a new philosophy laying on the cohesion between the port and the city to build a “governance of cruise ports” through citizens/stakeholders engagement.
Let’s make it crystalline, make it wise, make it visible and make it happen!
#MedCruise&Cities
