By
Rebecca Gibson |
Carla Salvadό, the port of Barcelona’s marketing and cruise manager, has become the president of the MedCruise Association, which represents cruise ports in the Mediterranean and its adjoining seas.
Elected at the 45th MedCruise General Assembly, which was held in the Spanish capital of Barcelona, Salvadό has worked at the port of Barcelona since 1992 and first became involved in the cruise industry in 2003. She served as secretary general of MedCruise for three years and also held a position on the association’s board of directors in subsequent years.
Salvadό replaces current president Stavros Hatzakos, who is also the general manager of the port of Piraeus. Hatzakos will remain at MedCruise as honorary president.
“MedCruise is a unique association that unites and represents cruise ports that host more than 20% of the global cruise traffic,” said Salvadό. “I would like thank MedCruise members that trust me to lead the association and I am looking forward to working with all our members, in order to promote the cruise activities. Other cruise ports and cruise lines association are partners in these efforts, and along with the new board of directors, I will work on maintaining a close relationship with all of them to increase the prospects of cruising in the Med and beyond.”
MedCruise has also elected a new board of directors for 2014-2017. The new members include Kristijan Pavic, deputy general manager at Dubrovnik Port Authority in Croatia, who will serve as senior vice president; Maria Cano from Palamόs in Spain, who will act as vice president; Figen Ayan, vice president of cruise operations at the port of Istanbul in Turkey; Andreia Fernandes Ventura, administrator at the port of Lisbon in Portugal; and Anne-Sophie Peyran, marketing and communication manager of French Riviera Ports. In addition the following people will serve on the board: Airam Díaz Pastor, from Tenerife Port Authority; Lotfi El Ajmi, representing the Tunisian Ports; Elvira Leschinskaya, head of development and external relations at the port of Odessa, Ukraine; Boyan Babic, cruise terminal director at the port of Koper in Slovenia; Giampiero Costagli, marketing manager of Portoferraio cruise port in Italy; Marijan Petkovic, assistant general manager at the Port of Sibenik Authority in Croatia; and Vlado Mezak, director of Croatia’s Port of Rijeka.
The new board met following the election results, reappointing Thanos Pallis as MedCruise’s secretary general and confirming that the association will continue to be based at the Greek office at the Port of Piraeus.
In addition, the board welcomed two Italian ports – Portofino and Gioia Tauro – as MedCruise members, bringing the association’s total membership up to 73.
The 46th MedCruise General Assembly will take place in Zadar, Croatia, from 3-6 June 2015.