The Escola Europea opens the registrations for the brand new course “Ports and Passengers”

The course, with an eminently practical approach, will offer a 360º vision of the operations and commercialisation of cruise ships and ferries.

The Escola Europea has launched its new specialised training course on cruise and ferry operations and commercialisation. The need for such a course was born from the concern to seek formulas for professionals in the port and tourism sectors to obtain a practical vision of what happens in the port during passenger operations, and to analyse the trends and growth and thus ensure the best strategies and advice in the cruise sector, from the operational, commercial and, in particular in light of modern-day environmental concerns, environmental perspectives.

During this 3-day long training, the participants will be offered theoretical perspectives through lectures and debates, as well as given a practical viewpoint through practical visits and a case study which will make it possible to analyse different passenger profiles, the characteristics of the different cruise lines and local tourist offers.

The course, initially planned to take place between the 30th of March and the 1st of April, but which has been postponed tentatively following the state of emergency declared in Spain related to the Coronavirus pandemic, will be held in Barcelona in the autumn. Recognised professionals from the sector will share their knowledge during the training, which will be carried out thanks to the collaboration of the Port of Barcelona, Grimaldi Lines, MSC Cruises, Marmedsa Cruise Services, and Barcelona Crew, among others.

The current growth of the cruise line sector

International cruise tourism is the sector that has witnessed the greatest continuous growth in recent decades. Today, the globally positioned sector faces new challenges that need to accommodate the needs of modern-day customers and the environment. It is vital to combine strategies, optimise processes and develop new technologies to complement the gigantism that the sector has experienced in recent years with optimal logistics operations that will result in high passenger satisfaction and interconnected operational logistics to the neighbouring environment and its society.

To work towards such sustainable improvement, the course delves into how the cruise industry is addressing environmental challenges, sustainability actions and social responsibility. In addition, the professors will detail the current context of the cruise industry including: trends, statistics, new destinations and future objectives.

The course will tackle the training practically through visits to port facilities to witness land-based management and port transit operations first-hand, and by presenting a case study (to be worked on in groups) to understand the implementation of cruise marketing and services.

“Ports & Passengers” is one of the technical courses that represent the innovative training missions of the Escola Europea, focused on the continuous education of professionals of the sector.

For more information on the course, you can visit the course page on: https://escolaeuropea.eu/calendar/ports-and-passengers-2020/.