The Port of Yokohama has signed onto the Cruise Friendly program, signing a deal with Var Chamber of Commerce and Industry of France in the Yokohama city hall last week.
The program’s objective is to build customer loyalty by delivering an “extraordinary experience” to guests, according to a statement, leaving a great impression with the ultimate aim to drive repeat visits.
Shops that sign onto the program display a specific Cruise Friendly logo and promise to stay open during cruise calls, offer a discount or gift with purchases, and speak English.
The Var Provence Cruise Club (VPCC) launch the program in 2013, offering the Cruise Friendly program in Toulon.
The program today stretches across Var Provence ports reaching a total of more than 400 shops in seven cities: Bandol, Sanary, Toulon, La Seyne-sur-Mer, Hyères, Le Lavandou, St-Raphaël, with two new cities to join the network in 2020: Fréjus and Le Castellet.
Attending the signing ceremony were Yuri Arakida, Deputy Mayor; Atsuko Ikedo, Director of Culture and Tourism Bureau; Hiroya Nakano, Director of Port and Harbor Bureau for Yokohama, and Jacques Bianchi, President of the Var CCI, accompanied by Anne-Marie Blum, Manager of the Var Provence Cruise Club and Caroline Pozmentier-Sportich, Vice President for International Relations of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, for France.
