Costa Rica participated by showing the best as a destination for cruise lines at Seatrade Cruise Global 2024, considered the most important cruise fair in the world, which took place from April 8 to 12, at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, USA.The primary purpose of this strategic participation is to increase the arrival of cruise passengers to the Costa Rican Pacific and Caribbean.
The presence of Costa Rica at Seatrade Cruise Global 2024 is part of the strategic actions contemplated to attract cruise lines to the country, providing the opportunity to position the destination for cruise passengers, allowing greater economic benefits, productive chains and job creation in the port cities. For this edition, the ICT participates with an exhibition stand with a physical space of 300 square feet, to offer general information about the country, provide the characteristics of the ports, tourist attractions, facilities in the destination and entry requirements.
“The Costa Rican Tourism Institute, together with the business sector related to cruises and the port authorities of the Pacific and the Caribbean, actively participate in the Seatrade Cruise Global 2024 fair. This fair is the most important cruise fair held in America and the Caribbean with the participation of the main cruise lines worldwide.
Increased visitation
This participation is part of the strategy to attract cruise lines so that they can increase visitation on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, with the aim of generating greater visitation by cruise passengers and also the arrival of more expedition vessels, making the efforts so that they stay more nights in our country and generate a significant amount of tourist income, so we celebrate the presence of our institution in this very relevant fair in terms of cruises,” said Gustavo Alvarado, Director of Tourism Management at the ICT.
In addition to the ICT, JAPDEVA (Port Administration and Economic Development Board of the Atlantic Slope) will be present, as well as private Costa Rican companies such as Costa Rica DMC, Swiss Travel Tour Operator, Asuaire Tour Operator and the AgenciaNavieraNautica Shipping.
To promote the country, meetings have been scheduled with cruise line executives, as well as with the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Federation (FCCA), the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), Ministries of Tourism, Port Authorities, among others, in order to establish dialogues regarding the updating of actions related to the arrival and stay operations of ships in Costa Rican ports.
Between August 2023 and February 2024, some 244 cruise ships and 225,995 cruise passengers visited Costa Rican ports, a figure that would increase, according to projections, when the current cruise season ends in the month of July.
Global meeting of the cruise industry
Seatrade Cruise Global brings together more than 120 countries representing cruise destinations in Europe, the United States, Central and South America, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Asia. Likewise, it allows connection with more than 1,800 decision-making executives from 100 cruise lines, being the main annual exhibition between leading companies in the global cruise industry.
At the same time, this global trading platform brings together more than 10,000 participants and has around 600 exhibition stands, where you can discover innovative products for the industry. At the event, members of the cruise industry come together to discuss topics of relevance to the sector, hold work sessions and one-on-one meetings with executives in charge of the operation of cruise ships in the world.
The theme for this year is “The Evolution of Cruises”; Participants will discover areas of the market, from port and destination developments, to advances in sustainability and cost control strategies. During the fair, conferences will be held to delve into topics such as port and destination development, strategies to attract new cruise segments, expedition and river cruises, sustainability and regulation, decarbonization, artificial intelligence and technological innovations.
