Registrations
Made up of different countries, each one with its own particular distinctive characteristics, the Adriatic area requires greater cooperation within it in order to grow and work towards developing the tourist industry in the area. Shared, even growth across the countries is therefore essential. In addition, the maritime tourism industry needs to take a moment to discuss how to promote the area as a whole and how it can be developed in order to obtain the significant role the Adriatic deserves to play at international level. How can the Adriatic become an authentic brand, a recognisable name able to encourage potential tourists to visit it? What further benefits for the area can derive from the development and management of a dedicated strategy that seeks to give the Adriatic a central role within international tourist flows? Once again this year, the opening session of the forum offers the opportunity to listen to the managers of the tourist boards in the Adriatic area discussing how this challenge for the area can be tackled.
Coffee break
The second part of the afternoon will be characterized by a sequence of brief speeches and dialogues. The presentation of Adriatic Sea Tourism Report will open this box: every year, since 2013, with the first edition of Adriatic Sea Forum, ASTR has been offering an analysis of flows, dimensions, nature and directions of tourist movements in the Adriatic area as regards the cruise, ferry and nautical sectors in the seven countries that face onto the Adriatic Sea. The new data, the ones referred to 2016, some comparisons with the previous year and some forecasts for 2017, will be presented together with comments and notes. A keynote speech given by one of the top speakers of this edition will interest and involve all the forum’s delegates, while a conversation on cruise itineraries’ planning in the Adriatic will close the first day.
1st Day Closing
To what extent do tourists see ferries as an ideal option for reaching destinations in the Adriatic area? How much importance do those destinations place on tourism traffic generated by ferry passengers, with a view to directing and focusing tourism promotion? Is there still scope for ferry traffic to grow, or for ferries to be rediscovered, as an alternative for those wishing to travel in the Adriatic area? The round table discussion will focus on the potential of ferry traffic, on the prospects for development in terms of passengers, on the challenges already met and those still to be tackled, and will pay particular attention to visitors and leisure passengers compared to other segments of passengers on board, important though these are.
Nautical tourism is undoubtedly one of the cornerstones of the tourist sector in the Adriatic area. However, during the round table, a broader look will be taken at the prospects for the segment. The discussion will focus on the potential of the Adriatic in the wider context of the Mediterranean. To what extent will the Adriatic be able to develop traffic and the economy linked to the nautical sector? What are its strengths and where is there room for improvement to acquire advantages over other nautical tourism areas? These are only a couple of the questions the discussion will revolve around and for which the speakers will attempt to provide an answer.
Coffee Break
This round table is dedicated to cruise destinations in the Adriatic. The representatives of the cities where cruise tourism has a role to play will be discussing how each one of those cities is handling the challenges, potential and critical issues liable to emerge as a result of the cruise phenomenon there. It is clear that the public authorities in charge of the cities must take a cautious approach to this phenomenon, which can bring advantages for the area, but which can also cause problems that must be dealt with and solved. The representatives of the cruise cities in the Adriatic will be presenting their own cases and discussing the points that emerge from them.
Lunch Break
The concluding session of Adriatic Sea Forum 2017 is dedicated to a reflection on the current situation of maritime tourism in the Adriatic and the prospects for the future, with a particular focus on the role of Montenegro, a country whose potential has not yet been fully explored, within the wider Adriatic context. Representatives of associations, public organisations and international bodies of various kinds linked to the world of maritime tourism and tourism in general, will first and foremost attempt to describe the current situation, providing the audience of stakeholders attending the forum with ideas, advice and tips on the strategies to adopt to become and remain competitive and on future developments in the area.
Closing