Τhe 8th Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum’s Conference and Exhibition will be held in Heraklion, Crete, taking place on May 6-7, 2025. Crete is Greece’s largest island and one of its most popular and long-established tourism and cruise destinations. Heraklion is the island’s major city and a significant air and sea hub. The port of Heraklion is Crete’s busiest, offering both homeport and transit call facilities and following a successful 2024 season is expecting to welcome over 225 cruise ship calls in 2025 and continue its impressive growth path.

Apart from CLIA and MedCruise who will again be actively involved in the Forum, cruise line executives and industry decision makers with extensive knowledge and operational knowhow of the Mediterranean will also be attending the event. During the Conference, speakers will share their thoughts and address issues common throughout the whole of this destination-rich region.

The impressive rebound of cruise tourism in the post-pandemic years has enabled the industry to resume its dynamic growth trajectory. For ports and destinations, as well as for service providers, the return to normality has been a slower and more complicated process.

At the same time, there has been a great deal of press coverage relating to over-tourism in a number of cities and destinations throughout the Mediterranean. Is this a new reality that the tourism industry must come to terms with or is it actually a phenomenon of circumstantial overcrowding or even limited to specific locations? Can the cruise sector effectively help mitigate overcrowding in some of the marquee ports of call that seem to be most affected?

As well as this crucial debate, cruise executives and key stakeholders will have the opportunity to examine ways to secure a sustainable future for ultra popular destinations and to seek a cooperative approach towards introducing cruise passengers to new or emerging ports of call with marquee potential.

Further to the above, topics to be discussed during the Forum’s 2-Day Conference will include sustainability, marketing and tourism product delivery, guest immersion and satisfaction, overcrowding, new destination entries, port infrastructure, “green” practices and solutions, effective berth allocation solutions and daily caps on arrivals.

The event’s busy exhibition floor will serve as the platform for the region’s destinations and stakeholders to meet with itinerary and excursion planners, while new infrastructure projects and port investments currently in full swing will be showcased. Cruise executives from the major cruise lines will again be attending, eager to meet with both established and new destinations keen to capitalise on the rapid growth of the industry.

All stakeholders of the international cruise industry meet and network at the Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum. Leaders of the largest international but also of more niche & luxury cruise lines get to meet with representatives of local authorities, ports & destinations, commercial chambers, airlines & airports, government representatives, potential investors, tourism service providers, tourism associations/ organisations, municipalities et.al.

The Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum is the perfect platform for:

• destinations to promote their offerings, to showcase their natural beauty but also their services, amenities and all they have to offer to cruise passengers, visiting the destination either as homeport or as a port of call.
• tourism service providers, shipping agents & ship suppliers, technical support companies, and all other kinds of providers aiming at promoting their products and services to a focused audience from an international market.
• potential investors keen to discuss opportunities and help set the tone for what will make an investment appealing.

Mikis Theodorakis Convention Center

Mikis Theodorakis Convention Center is the largest Convention Center in Crete and one of the largest in Greece. It covers 6,000 sqm, and with its 28 halls, it can accommodate small business meetings extending to large conventions up to 5,025 delegates in full function. The conference halls and venues are extremely flexible and can be adjusted according to personalized needs, with interconnected spaces showcasing the special character of every event. The Convention Center implements sustainability practices, thus contributing to the protection of the environment and the local community while offering authentic Cretan services to its visitors. It is located within the Creta Maris Resort next to Hersonissos, just 25 minutes from the Heraklion Airport. The perfect place to stay for business and leisure in Crete!

Address: Hersonissos 700 14 Crete, Greece
Tel +30 28970 27110
Email: sales@metaxahospitality.gr
Website: www.conference-greece.com

Access by air
Fly to Crete from Athens or with charter flights from Europe directly to Crete during the summer months.
Access the Convention Center Mikis Theodorakis either by taxi (taxi station located just outside the airport), or the public bus to Hersonissos/ Agios Nikolaos from the bus station, also conveniently located just outside the airport.

Access by road

• From Heraklion Airport to Convention Center
  From the airport exit, follow the national road with direction to Agios Nikolaos for about 20km. Turn right at the exit to Kastelli and then turn left for Hersonissos. Go straight ahead for 2 km and turn right to Hersonissos village (old road). When you arrive at Hersonissos (after 2km) you will see a supermarket (Lidl) on your left. Turn left there and again left at the first crossroad. Go straight for about 50m and you will see the Convention Center Mikis Theodorakis on your right side.

• From Heraklion Port to Convention Center
  From the exit of the port, turn left at the traffic lights. After 500m turn right and go straight ahead for 300m. Turn right onto the national road with direction to Agios Nikolaos. Go straight ahead for about 20km and turn right at the exit to Kastelli, then left to Hersonissos. Go straight ahead for 2 km and turn right to Hersonissos village (old road). When you arrive at Hersonissos (after 2km) you will see a supermarket (Lidl) on your left. Turn left there and again left at the first crossroad. Go straight for about 50m and you will see the Convention Center Mikis Theodorakis on your right side.

Creta Maris Resort
Located just 25km from Heraklion, in the lively town of Hersonissos, Creta Maris is a celebration of Crete’s architecture, cuisine, culture and nature. An all-inclusive beach resort with extraordinary experiences of intuitive Cretan generosity and sustainability at its heart.

Address: Dimokratias street, Hersonissos 700 14 Crete, Greece
Tel: +30 28970 27000
Email: resort@cretamaris.gr
www.cretamaris.gr

For travel arrangements, hotel bookings and other enquiries please contact KYVERNITIS:

Mrs Tatiana Tzartzou │ T: +30 210 9001238 │ Email: posidonia@kyvernitis.gr │ For more information visit: kyvernitis.gr