Second annual CLIA Executive Partner Conference in London

26 February, 2018 – Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) closed its second successful Executive Partner (EP) Conference for industry stakeholders in London earlier this month. The two-day conference gathered participants from 22 countries, including many industry CEOs and senior executives from 17 cruise lines, along with new Executive Partners. Dynamic audience participation and open dialogue took place during the interactive workshops covering challenging topics of critical importance to the cruise community. The event was highly rated for its practical coaching on business pitching and its sessions on infrastructure to facilitate both port operations and destination strategy. The importance of demonstrating the industry efforts towards sustainable development was a general session followed by all participants with great interest. The annual CLIA Europe Dinner was attended by senior members of support international organizations such as the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) and WTTC (World Travel and Tourism Council), hosted by CLIA Europe Chairman, Kyriakos Anastassiadis, who spoke about the pace of change within the cruise industry. The second day opened with an inspiring Presidents Panel, followed by newly introduced CRUISE Talks on a variety of topics including Brexit, GDPR and public health. Heritage destination sustainability and maritime environmental impacts were actively discussed, concluding with a session on building a modern cruise ship. Speaking about the event, Colin Brimson, CEO of IT data solutions supplier d-flo and new Executive Partner remarked “My first CLIA Executive Partner Conference provided an ideal platform to meet cruise line executives and hear about developments within the cruise industry”. Alessandro Maccari, Senior Expert passenger ships of Rina Services S.p.A, shared “These events are important to attend. The entire industry connects actively for two days and we can explain and share our vision of the future.”