If on the freight side, according to the flow information of cargoes handled from their ports communicated in random order by some Italian Port System Authorities, the the national port sector is suffering, on a par with and perhaps more of those of other European countries, on the cruise sector the data are much more comforting, confirming that the cruises, even in Italy, has fully exited the period Very negative caused by the global spread of the pandemic of Covid-19.

"The cruise segment - underlined the President of the Association of Italian Ports (Assoporti), Rodolfo Giampieri - continues to grow even beyond forecasts, scoring a record in 2023, confirming its strategic role for the Italian ports. The figures exceed those of 2019, which He had already set a record, and in the top 20 ports in the MED area there are as many as eight Italian ports. We often have neglected the data of this sector which, on the other hand, for a country like the must be remembered and valued. I would like to remind you that This is a new role for ports: motion generators immediate (cruise passengers) and return of people, such as tourists, (powerful territorial marketing)'.

The forecast data for cruise flows in 2023 at to which Giampieri referred are those made public today by the research and consulting company Risposte Turismo in vista of the eleventh edition of Italian Cruise Day, the annual forum on cruise sector conceived and organized by the company, which this year it will be held on October 27th at the Castle Aragonese of Taranto and which was prepared in partnership with the Port System Authority of the Ionian Sea and the Municipality of Taranto.

According to the forecasts of Risposte Turismo, in fact, the ports in 2023 will set an all-time record of 12.9 million passengers handled and this year the number of ports will rise to eight Italians included in the ranking of the 20 main airports Mediterranean cruises. Among the most important variations significant impact on 2022 is that of Venice which, together with the other Italian ports in the upper Adriatic Sea, will contribute to the in this area (Venice, Trieste, Ravenna, Monfalcone, Chioggia and Sistiana) of the threshold of 1.3 million passengers Handled. At the regional level, this year Liguria will confirm its position at the top with more than three million passengers handled (+42% on 2022), ahead of Lazio with 2.9 million (+37%) and Sicily with 1.8 million (+50%). Apulia will be the fifth region in Italy for cruise passengers handled (660,000, +7.5% on 2022) and, among its ports, Taranto will confirm its status as a new cruise port, setting its own record of passengers handled (140,000, +29%).

"In a year of records," explained the president of Tourism Answers, Francesco di Cesare - there will be many ports in achieve your best cruise season ever. Between Civitavecchia, very close to the threshold of three million cruise passengers, Naples, Genoa, Palermo, La Spezia, Messina, Trieste, Ravenna, Syracuse and Taranto'.

The Risposte Turismo report also shows that in the three-year period 2024-2026 the total value of port investments for the cruise ships in Italy will amount to about 1.6 billion, of which 32.6% dedicated to the construction of new terminals cruise ships (almost 530 million), 26.7% for the preparation of stopovers to alternative supplies and supplies energy at the quay (around €430 million) and more than 20% at the Construction of other infrastructures for the cruise industry (330 million). Among the projects under development, the report cites the new cruise terminal of Porto Corsini in Ravenna, which should be completed next year, with an investment value amounting to €27.7 million, Catania's new maritime station worth two million euros and the redevelopment of the former Hennebique grain silos in Genoa, for which A total of €130 million has been invested.

This year's edition of Italian Cruise Day will also host the collateral initiative Carriere@ICD, the only career day in Italy dedicated to the cruise sector, which will give the opportunity to to 50 young people eager to embark on a career path in this sector to listen to business presentations and carry out one-to-one meetings and interviews with some of the world's most important companies in the sector.