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Poole And Portland To Host Major Cruise Industry Event

A major international conference will be coming to the area next April that will showcase the UK as a destination for cruise ships. The main conference venue is the RNLI Lifeboat College in Poole but other venues include the Weymouth & Portland Sailing Academy at Portland and Minterne House near Dorchester.  Cruise line executives from around the world will descend on the area for the two day conference and will meet with representatives from UK ports including Poole Harbour Commissioners and Portland Port Limited.

Northern Europe has become the world's third biggest cruise destination after the Caribbean and Mediterranean and in recognition of this, event organisers, Seatrade Communications Limited have run two very successful conferences of this type at Leeds Castle , Kent in 2002 and Liverpool in 2005.  In view of the growing number of cruise visits to the South West region and the quality of the location, Poole and Portland are seen as the perfect venues for the Seatrade UK Cruise Forum in 2007.

Destination South West , the body responsible for promoting the region to cruise companies have led the partnership effort to bring this event to the area.  Bob Harrison, DSW's Director said, 'In 2005, there were 83 cruise calls to South West ports bringing in 84,000 passengers.  The quality of the region as a place to visit puts the South West in a strong position to take further advantage of a market that is growing by 10% annually. The Seatrade UK Cruise Forum is also a superb opportunity to raise the profile of Portland and Poole as potential ports of call and the surrounding Dorset coast and countryside as places to explore.'
 
Other partners in the project include Portland Port Limited, Poole Harbour Commissioners, the Borough of Poole, Poole Tourism and Dorset County Council .  The initiative is also receiving significant support from the South West RDA .  Bruce Voss, Head of Operations for Bournemouth Dorset & Poole said,  'It is an exciting opportunity to showcase the South West of England to the world cruise ship market, which could bring important economic benefits to the region.'

Bruce Grant-Braham, Chairman of Poole Tourism Partnership , said, "This is a major coup for Poole and Dorset.  Bringing the world's cruise market trade to our doorstep is vital to securing this growing sector of the UK's tourism market.  It has great potential for the economic vitality of the port, superb spectator value and the branding and image clearly fits Poole and the surrounding area."

Graham Richardson, Tourism Manager, Poole Tourism, Tel: 01202 262539