Forum, Lithuania, Port, Tourism, Transport, USA

Photo: portofklaipeda.lt

Already for the 31st time this event has been organised in Miami that is called the global cruise shipping capital.

"Participation at such event is the possibility to present Klaipeda Seaport at the global level, to reveal directly to potential clients and cruising tourists what is the most attractive and interesting in our Seaport and our country. Attendees of this exhibition are genuinely interested in the eloquent fact that the largest travel guide book publisher in the world Lonely Planet has indicated Lithuania as the third best tourism direction in 2015. In the top travel list Lithuania goes directly after Singapore and Namibia. Such rating while presenting the possibilities of Lithuania is crucially important to our country," told the representative of Klaipeda State Seaport Authority Simona Krisiunaite.

Already for three decades the exhibition Cruise Shipping Miami has been attracting thousands of attendees and nearly 1000 exhibitors from over 100 countries worldwide. The conference session includes highly focused discussions on cruise shipping perspectives, environmental protection, fleet renovation and expansion, ship building and design aspects, services provided on board and technology, as well as services rendered to passengers in cruise terminals and the attractiveness of these terminals.

The attendees of the exhibition have demonstrated their interest in possibilities of Klaipeda Seaport to accommodate large cruise vessels. Last year the history of Klaipeda Seaport was written anew when the Seaport received the largest within the entire history of the Seaport cruise vessel Celebrity Eclipse, the length of which equals the length of three football fields and the height exceeds the height of a twenty – storey building. This 317 meters in length liner will again call the Seaport of Klaipeda this year, but it is forecasted that the next year the new record of the longest vessel will be achieved. The 330 metres in length cruise vessel Royal Princess is to call the Seaport in 2016.

The cruise season of 2015 will be launched in Klaipeda on the 4th of May. The cruise liner AIDA Cara (the length equals to 193.34 metres) flying the flag of Italy will open this cruise season in Klaipeda. It is symbolical that the same liner should crown the cruise season 2015 in Klaipeda. This German liner will call Klaipeda for the first time. Pursuant to the latest data the cruise vessels will call Klaipeda Seaport nearly 60 times this year (presently 57 calls have been already registered). Last year cruise vessels called the Seaport of Klaipeda 63 times carrying the record number of passengers on board – over 57 000.

At the exhibition Cruise Shipping Miami 2015 Lithuania and Klaipeda is jointly represented at 18 square metre area stand by SE Klaipeda State Seaport Authority, Klaipeda Tourism and Culture Information Centre, JSC Limarko Maritime Agency, JSC Klaipedos Meja , JSC Krantas Travel.