Seatrade Med Keynote Speech Tuesday November 20, 2012 

     Chris, Christine, Manfredi, George, Presidents, Ladies and Gentlemen,   This Tuesday November 28th 2012 is a key moment in Marseille’s 26

centuries of maritime history.  

Although marked by many events, flourishing at times, decadent at others -

in particular during the 19th century Continental Blockade- the City’s

maritime trade had never before acquired a worldwide prominence that could

bring together, as it has today, under one roof, all the world cruise industry’s

decision makers, whether operators, distributors or partners.  

All of us here in Marseille would like to express our deep gratitude to Chris

HAYMAN and all the Seatrade team and to Michael KAZAKOFF, who put our

motivation to the test at Cannes in 2010, and to Giovanni SPADONI, past

president of MEDCRUISE, for selecting Marseille as host city for the ninth

edition of Seatrade Med.  

To repay the trust placed in us, we have contributed to the event’s

organization not only our know-how, but also the tremendous synergy that

exists between the institutions and forty companies working to develop the

cruise market in Marseille under the umbrella of the Marseille Provence

Cruise Club.  

The Club acts as a genuine task force, led by its three founding members:

the City of Marseille, the Marseille Chamber of Commerce and Industry and

the Marseille Port Authority, the GPMM. This unique situation means it can be

a coordinator, a one-stop contact point, a communicator and, above all, a

promoter of the cruise industry.  

Developing this market is totally in line with the three founding members’

strategies:  

• For the City, with its four million visitors in 2012, it underlines its

policy in favor of tourism;  

• For the Chamber of Commerce and Industry -the oldest in the world

founded in 1599- it is an integral part of its drive to develop the local

economy and sectors of excellence;  

It is the Chamber of Commerce that manages Marseille’s international

airport, more than 8 million passengers each year and forty or so flights daily

to the major European cities, plus –and this is a real scoop- New York direct

twice a week as from May 2013;  

• As for the Port of Marseille, France’s number one cruise port, its

strategy is geared to those of its two partners. Since 2002, it has invested

more than sixty million Euros to provide cruise companies with five mega-

cruise ship berths and three terminals able to handle 18 000 turnaround

passengers simultaneously. 

• Joining the three former establishments, the private consortium MPCT,

which gathers COSTA CROCIERE and MSC is investing 1 million euros to

arrange the new terminal 24.  

The convergence of these strategies, shared by all the industry professionals,

explains the vitality of the cruise market here in Marseille.  

From 18 000 passengers in 1995, the cruise terminals will handle 910 000

passengers in 2012, rising to 1 150 000 in 2013, including 310 000 and

350 000 turnaround passengers respectively over these two years.  

These growth rates far exceed those seen in the rest of Europe and represent

a doubling of traffic between 2008 and 2013 and a three-fold increase in

turnaround passengers over the same period.  

At the same time, Marseille has been undergoing profound change. As part of

a state-sponsored operation of national interest, to which all the territorial

authorities contribute, a 480-hectare waterfront site is undergoing

transformation. Total investment amounts to 7.5 billion Euros, with each

Euro of public money attracting 4 to 5 Euros of private investment.  

The operation, known as Euroméditerranée, is the largest urban regeneration

project ever carried out in Europe.  

Not to be outdone, Marseille is bubbling, Marseille is coming alive, Marseille

is on the move. Indeed, we are today just a few weeks away from the

celebrations, on January 12th 2013, to mark Marseille’s European Capital of

Culture year.  

To this end, the City and its partners have invested 650 million Euros in

building and renovating cultural venues...   

Each day of 2013 will feature a new program of festivities, as you will

discover when you visit the destinations stand; I’m sure, you too, will all

want to become regular repeaters.  

The eighty towns and villages around Marseille are taking an active part in

this European cultural program, conferring on Marseille the undisputed and

often envied title of Gateway to Provence.  

With such prestigious events, unrivalled air, rail and road access for

passengers, pre-cruise and post-cruise, and an extensive catalog of varied

excursions to the heart of Provence, our city’s cruise sector is set to grow

even further.  

We have set ourselves a target of 1.6 million cruise passengers by 2015 /

2016.  

To this end, the Marseille Port Authority, GPMM, backed by the territorial

authorities, is set to invest just over 30 million Euros in improving access

from the sea to ensure port calls can be made in all weathers.  

Furthermore, since 2010, the GPMM has restarted ship repair activities at dry

docks 8 and 9, with a 25-year concession granted to the Genoese shipyard

SAN GIORGIO DEL PORTO, the parent company of Chantier Naval de

Marseille, CNM. Over the past 24 months, forty ships have undergone repairs

at the dry docks, including 16 large cruise ships.  

The increasing number and size of large cruise ships in the Mediterranean

and the pressing needs of the major operators have led the Port of Marseille

to re-commission its dry dock number 10, the largest dry dock in Europe and

third largest in the world. A 25-year concession to operate the facilities has

been signed with a consortium that includes the Chantier Naval de Marseille,

Mariotti Shipyards and STX France. Once renovated, the dry dock should

enter service towards the end of 2014, providing valuable and reliable

facilities for the one hundred seventy or so cruise ships plying the

Mediterranean in the high season.  

This will provide Marseille with a “service station” offering regular

maintenance facilities and able to respond to more urgent situations.

For this edition, and for the first time at the Seatrade convention, you will be

able to visit the SYRREN (Super Yacht Refit and Repair Networking) pavilion.

The pavilion is the venue for a two-day B to B convention, with scheduled

meetings organized between repair yards from the Provence and Côte d’Azur

regions and yacht owners and captains. One thousand meetings already have

been arranged.  

The pavilion’s inclusion has been prompted by the three thousand yachts

that pass through these repair yards each year for refitting.  

To conclude, we can say that the Marseille marketplace has shown itself to

be a powerhouse for growth in the cruise sector, with its combination of

marketing skills and cruise ship maintenance.  

But what use is a powerhouse if it’s not connected to anything?  

With this in mind, we are today organizing a lunch, sponsored by our friends

at Royal Caribbean, in order to bring together representatives from ports in

Provence, Côte d’Azur and Corsica and cruise operator executives. The

meeting is designed to be a marketing operation benefiting all concerned,

since the view from Florida remains a global view, one of a market that

encompasses the whole of the French Western Mediterranean. Let us hope

that this initiative to take the debate up a level will avoid the tendency

towards unfair competition between ports.  

We hope that, after attending this ninth edition of Seatrade Med, each one of

you here will leave Marseille with a feeling of satisfaction and an irresistible

yearning to return to the waters of the French Mediterranean.  

Rest assured, nonetheless, that our teams will do their utmost to ensure that

you enjoy our Provençal hospitality.  

Lastly, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the 71 companies who

supported our venture, to the 20 sponsors who made sure budget deadlines

were met and to the teams at the City of Marseille, Chamber of Commerce,

Port and Cruise Club who, with energy, dedication and commitment, worked

hand in hand with Seatrade to organize this grand event.  

 

In closing, I would like to pay special tribute to Jacques NACER, President of

the South Corsica Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who passed away

recently in such tragic circumstances.

Be this ninth edition of Seatrade Med Successful.

Thank you  

 

 

 

Jacques TRUAU

President

Marseille Provence Cruise Club