The caution came at the new edition of the Clia Port and Destination Forum, which took place in London last week.

More than 100 Clia executive partners attended the forum, including representatives from ports, destinations, tour operators and port agents.

The agenda included sessions and panels on issues such as European deployment capacity, port infrastructure, waste reception facilities and the evolution of the role of port agents.

Clia said most delegates had signalled optimism that European cruise ship deployment would continue to improve.

However it also acknowledged “certain challenges such as Europe’s increasing political instability and unfavourable regulatory initiatives could limit future growth”.
 
The need to improve and expand European cruise port infrastructure was also highlighted as a key challenge to the industry’s further growth.
 
Elsewhere, Clia UK and Ireland has announced plans to offer travel agents a “summer of opportunity” to help boost their sales.
 
It will hold a series of events including ship visits, sales training and product development, which will take place in six different ports around the country.
 
The first event will be a cruise sales masterclass on board Celebrity Eclipse in Dover on June 6.  

This will be followed in July 21 by a discovery expo in Portsmouth onboard Swan Hellenic’s Minerva and then on July 23, with a cruise sales masterclass in Liverpool, on Princess Cruises’ Caribbean Princess.

Meanwhile a luxury cruise expo has also been planned in Southampton on August 14-15 onboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Voyager together with Oceania Cruises’ Marina.  

A cruise sales masterclass will then be held the following day in Newcastle on board Holland America Lines’ Koningsdam, which is being launched in April.