HOUSTON, May 2, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Dealing with the demand in the cruise industry was a key topic in Wednesday's work session of the 25th International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) World Ports Conference being held in Houston, Texas. The session, "Ports Adapting to Future Business Development Opportunities," featured three cruise industry experts who discussed the growth in their industry.
Philip Crannell, president of Florida-based Ports and Marine Group International, reported that the surge of cruise activity in the Caribbean is attracting considerable interest.
"There's never been a better time than now to make money in the Caribbean through investment in the cruise industry," said Crannell. "The Caribbean gets the industry's newest, most advanced and most expensive cruise ships loaded with amenities and so many other features that they are sometimes 'the destination' on the cruise that sells the itinerary."
The cruise ships on order cost an average of $350 million each, and most are larger than their predecessors, delegates were told.
According to Maurizio Bussolo of the Port Authority of Genoa, "Twenty-nine cruise ships are on order worldwide." A new cruise ship is launched every 35 days in order to meet demand.
J. Michael Crye, executive vice president of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said that his organization has determined that "an estimated 9.1 million U.S. residents took cruise vacations throughout the world and accounted for 79 percent of the industry's global passengers.
"Over the next three years, over 48 million North Americans indicate an intent to cruise," said Crye. "Cruising is an important vehicle for sampling destinations to which passengers may return."
After the close of the work session, conference delegates were bused to the Port of Houston Authority's (PHA) Barbours Cut Cruise Terminal to join in the 30th Anniversary Celebration of Barbours Cut. This event also marked the anniversary of the last time the IAPH conference was held in Houston in 1977. At that conference, delegates buried a time capsule at the then-new Barbours Cut. On Wednesday, its contents were revealed -- copies of two Houston daily newspapers, the Houston Chronicle and the now-defunct Houston Post; program guides from the Houston Oilers (now the Tennessee Titans), the Houston Astros and the Houston Rockets; and letters from area colleges and universities. Guests were able to contribute personal notes and other items to a new capsule that will be buried in PHA's Bayport Terminal and opened in 2039.
The IAPH Conference continues at the Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel through Friday, May 4.
The International Association of Ports and Harbors was founded in 1955. For more than 50 years, IAPH has steadily developed as the leading organization in the global maritime industry. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, the IAPH comprises representatives from more than 400 ports and top executives from major industry corporations in nearly 90 countries around the world. The members' ports as a whole handle 85 percent of the world's container traffic and more than 60 percent of the global seaborne trade. More information about IAPH is available on www.IAPHworldports.org. For more information regarding the conference, visit www.IAPH2007.com.
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