Adriatic’s Cruise, Ferry and Yacht Players to Meet at Maritime Forum in Bari, Italy

Bari, Italy, will become the capital of Adriatic maritime tourism during October 6-7 with the fifth edition of the Adriatic Sea Forum – Cruise, Ferry, Sail & Yacht event.

Organized by tourism research and consultancy company, Risposte Turismo, the forum will see the participation of players in the cruise, ferry and nautical sectors from the seven countries flanking the Adriatic (Italy, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, and Slovenia).

Launched in 2013, the international event is dedicated to maritime tourism in the Adriatic, an area with a marked vocation for tourism by sea, with its more than 150 tourist destinations located in 25 regions.

Operators are expected at the Cruise Terminal in Puglia’s capital city this year − including representatives of ship-owning companies, shipping agents, port terminals, tour operators, travel agencies, marinas and small harbours, nautical charter companies, shipyards etc. − for two days of business networking, discussions and debates on the area’s potentials and challenges.

“The latest edition of the Adriatic Sea Forum therefore comes at a particularly significant time for this sector, in which the challenge, even more than in the past, hinges on our ability to attract demand, and therefore tourists, to the area of the Adriatic,” said Risposte Turismo President Francesco di Cesare.

Adriatic Sea Tourism Report

On the opening day of the forum, Francesco di Cesare will present the main results of the new edition of Risposte Turismo’s Adriatic Sea Tourism Report, which, since 2013, has analysed the flows, size, nature and directions of tourism movements by sea in the Adriatic.

While awaiting the forecasts for 2023, Risposte Turismo has provided a ‘sneak peek’ at the closing projections for 2022.

In 2022, according to the latest edition of the Adriatic Sea Tourism Report, in the Adriatic:

● Cruise traffic will close at 3.3 million passenger movements (+232% vs 2021).
● Ferries and hydrofoils will close with some 18 million passengers handled (+26% vs 2021) with Bari as top call on the Adriatic for international routes.
● Nautical tourism: for the Adriatic, 337 structures for almost 80,000 moorings (79.171).

5th Adriatic Sea Forum – Agenda

The two-day program of the forum will tackle a number of issues and questions to operators and the representatives of governing bodies, in order to understand what the future trajectories of development may be for the maritime sectors in the Adriatic.

“We shall consider intentions, projects, programs and needs that should emerge in the near future, characterising the dynamics and enabling achievement of new and increasingly ambitious results,” Francesco di Cesare added.

The program of the 5th Adriatic Sea Forum will have 12 events, including round tables, speeches and presentations, plus more than 50 international speakers representing the entire Adriatic maritime-tourism supply chain.

The main topics will include Adriatic maritime tourists profiling, strategies that operators and territories can adopt to intercept their needs and meet their expectations, the potentials of the ferry segment that are not fully expressed as yet, challenges for local operators, prospects for LNG and electric power supply, the state-of-the-art for infrastructures in the Adriatic area, and investments planned for the coming years.

The two-day program will conclude with a plenary round table dedicated to the future of maritime tourism in Puglia, which is one of the most valid protagonists in the Mediterranean in this sector.

The forum shall also provide an opportunity to learn about FRAMESPORT, SUSPORT and TECHERA: European interregional cooperation projects active in the Adriatic area, which shall be presented in Bari.

Booking is required to participate in Adriatic Sea Forum, which will be held in English with Italian translation.

The full program and notes on how to participate are available at adriaticseaforum.com and on the Twitter and LinkedIn pages.

The 5th Adriatic Sea Forum will be held in partnership with the Southern Adriatic Ports Authority, and with Pugliapromozione, the Puglia Region Tourism Board.

The Greek Travel Pages (GTP) is a communication sponsor of the 5th Adriatic Sea Forum.