By
Michele Witthaus |
As the doors closed on the cruise industry's biggest gathering on Thursday 19 March, participants looked ahead to a change of location for the Cruise Shipping Miami (CSM) conference and exhibition, which will move to Fort Lauderdale for at least two years due to renovations.
Those present on the final day of CSM joined in a minute’s silence held at midday in honour of those killed and injured in a terrorist attack in Tunis on Wednesday.
The assault, which claimed the lives of guests from two cruise ships, cast a sombre mood over the event, which kicked off in jovial style on Tuesday with the traditional State of the Industry panel moderated by CNN presenter Richard Quest. Leaders of the four biggest cruise corporations (Carnival Corporation’s Arnold Donald, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd's Richard Fain, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd’s Frank Del Rio and MSC Cruises’ Pierfrancesco Vago) faced a good-natured grilling from Quest. Issues addressed included the need to raise cruise prices, the potential of Cuba as a destination with the move towards lifting of US restrictions on the country, and the future face of the industry.
Quest was reprimanded by Fain for referring to the ‘stranglehold’ of Miami in the cruise business, while Del Rio thanked his two larger competitors for “paving the way” for his company and others in China. The opening session included a presentation by CLIA chairman Adam Goldstein, who said the industry was “doing very well”, generating US$117 billion in economic output, 891,000 full-time jobs and US$38 billion in wages in 2013, the latest year assessed in CLIA’s Cruise Industry Economic Impact study.
Other sessions at the conference covered regional developments, market segments, cruise product development and safety and ship operations, as well as shipbuilding and refurbishment trends.
Next year, the conference will move from its long-term home in Miami to Fort Lauderdale in Florida, US, and will be rebranded as Seatrade Global.