The South Pacific Cruise Alliance (SPCA) is launching a new edition of the South Pacific Cruise Forum, set to take place on October 18 and 19, 2023, in Papeete, Tahiti, in French Polynesia.
Representatives from SPCA and Pacific Tourism Organisation [SPTO], including most of the South Pacific’s tourism ministers, will meet to discuss the future of cruising in the region, at the Presidential Palace of French Polynesia, in Tahiti.
Attendees will include:
- Sven Lindblad, CEO of Lindblad Expeditions
- Chris Prelog, president of Windstar Cruises
- Chad Berkshire, CCO of Oceania Cruises
- Patrick Augier, secretary general of Ponant
- Philippe Wong, CEO of Aranui Cruises
- Filippos Venetopoulos, CEO of Variety Cruises
- Jill Abel, CEO of the Australia Cruise Association
- Chris Cocker, CEO of the Pacific Tourism Organisation
- Heather Menzies, coordinator of Pitcairn Islands Tourism
- Bud Gilroy, president of South Pacific Cruise Alliance
Discussions will include a variety of concerns to both cruise lines and destinations, including logistics, infrastructure, environment, taxes and regulations, societal impacts, as well as optimizing collaboration in the cruise industry.
The SPCA has worked to bring together the island States and territories of the South Pacific in order to promote the coordinated development of the cruise industry. American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kingdom of Tonga, New Caledonia, Pitcairn, Samoa, The Islands of Tahiti, Wallis and Futuna, are working together to multiply cruise ship itineraries in the planet’s largest cruising area. They work in partnership with the Cruise Line International Association, the Australian Cruise Association and the New Zealand Cruise Association.
