The event was organized in Punta del Este, at the Enjoy Hotel, where the opening was led by the Minister of Tourism, Eduardo Sanguinetti, the General Director of the Secretariat, Ignacio Curbelo, the Vice President of the National Port Administration, Daniel Loureiro, the National Director of Hydrography, Marcos Paolini and the interim Mayor of Maldonado, Luis Pereira, accompanied in the room by directors of Tourism of the municipalities, managers of cruise companies and heads of ports in the region.
The Minister of Tourism, Eduardo Sanguinetti, reported that the data from last season showed the visit of 187 ships to the ports of Punta del Este and Montevideo, with a decrease of 324,170 people, which generated some 17,153,153 dollars in profits for the country.
He stressed the importance of this meeting, in which national and international authorities and operators of the sector interact on common challenges. "We are committed to the design and development of strategies that promote effective, sustainable and sustainable growth."
However, "the main challenge for the sector is to increase the number of cruise passengers and ships arriving in our country. In addition, it is necessary to increase the possibilities of stopovers and overnight stays in each of the cities and improve the quality of services."
For his part, the Vice President of the National Port Administration, Daniel Loureiro, stressed that cruise tourism is a regional market since cruise ships do not arrive at a single port or country but rather visit a region, which is why "our ports must grow, develop and offer the best services in perfect harmony with the technological and environmental challenges that the sector entails."
The event will also be attended by the Undersecretary of Tourism of Chile, Verónica Pardo Lagos, and the advisor on international relations of Brazil, Heitor Kadri, which highlights the importance of the joint work of the region to continue growing in the cruise sector.
Among the various talks and presentations, there was an exchange of ideas regarding port management models, visions and investments in the port sector at a regional level, the development of tourism in the region, new offers of nautical activities, sustainability policies in the cruise sector and the commitment to river and Antarctic cruises.
Source: MINTUR Uruguay.