The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Italy has organized the Second Edition of the Sustainable Cruise Tourism Management Program.

This edition was organized within the frame of their dialogue partnership with the Indian Ocean Region Association (IORA), according to a press release.

The course took place at Roma Cruise Terminal’s Terminal Amerigo Vespucci and was organized thanks to the collaboration with ForMare and Confitarma, the Italian Shipowners’ Confederation.

According to the press release, the program saw the participation of representatives from authorities across the Indian Ocean Region, including the Port Authorities of Mauritius, Tanzania, and Kenya; the representative from the Thai Ministry of Transport, as well as the chairman of the Port of Cochin, India.

On the first day of the program, the Italian National Focal Point for IORA, Consigliere Eugenio Sgrò, welcomed the participants to the program conceived and focused on capacity building in one of the IORA priority pillars of the blue economy, such as the sustainable cruise tourism.

The five-day course provided an opportunity for participants to engage in in-depth discussions on sustainable cruise terminal practices, gaining insights for implementation in their countries.

The sessions were run by experts from the Port Authority, Italian Coast Guard, Costa Crociere, Aquila Centre for Excellence, port security and Roma Cruise Terminal. Visits to cruise terminals, Costa Toscana, Civitavecchia Forest, Fruit Terminal’s warehouse, and the Coast Guard office complemented the lectures.