European companies will be well represented at this year’s
Marine Hotel Association, said Executive Director Caroline Pritchard

MHA convention to showcase robust industry
and Europe’s increased importance

It is no secret that a many industries are bracing for some economic challenges ahead. But for now, the cruise industry is still strong, as evidenced by the amount of interest in the upcoming Marine Hotel Association (MHA) Conference & Trade Show.

“I think we’ll have around 1,200 people throughout different parts of the program,” says Caroline Pritchard, executive director of the MHA. “I think it will be even bigger than the last time we were here in 2005. Hollywood is more local so you’ve got a lot of staff that are allowed to come (because) it’s not a budgetary concern for them to be here.”

The 200 booths available have long been booked for the show, which is scheduled to take place April 13 to 15 at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood, Florida. There is also a growing waiting list of additional companies ready to take the spot of any cancellations.

In particular, says Pritchard, there has been tremendous interest from European suppliers who are increasingly eyeing an industry spreading into the European market with rapid speed. Many of the 35 companies new to this year’s show are from the continent.

“The European segment of our mixture has grown tremendously in the last few years,” says Pritchard. “About 25 percent of our membership right now is European… The growth is big and it’s all happened in the last three or four years.” A decade ago, adds Pritchard, only about 5 percent of MHA’s membership was from Europe.

This year there are many manufacturing companies attending from Germany and other parts of northern Europe, as well as a fairly large contingent of Italians. Food, equipment and ship chandlers in particular will have a strong showing. “Cruise lines have developed a much more global perspective because the ships are all over the world and particularly in Europe,” adds Pritchard. “Europe has become a huge segment for the cruise industry.”

The opportunities for European suppliers are much more extensive than they were 20 years ago, and more suppliers are interested in doing business in the sector, explains Pritchard. They understand the sensitivity of pricing issues, and current exchange rates give them the opportunity to come to the table with competitive deals.

Good value
Overall, continues Pritchard, passengers are finding that cruising remains the best value vacation to be found, particularly for anyone interested in visiting Europe. “It is a recession-proof vacation and it is a recession-proof business for the travel industry,” she says. “People can go to Europe affordably (on a cruise). There is no other affordable way to do that, particularly now with the exchange rate the way it is.”

With a cruise, Americans can pay for their vacation in U.S. dollars and forego the expensive hotels and restaurants on shore. The industry’s strength is also reflected in the ongoing construction of new ships: 45 new vessels are scheduled to come on line between the spring of this year and the spring of 2012.

In addition to the growing number of European attendees and suppliers, this year’s show also welcomes two impressive keynote speakers: Jerry Greenfield of the famous Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream fame, and Evan Goldstein, a master sommelier.

Greenfield will regale delegates on Monday with the inside scoop on how to best market and service customers, while Goldstein, an author of many successful books on food and wine pairing, will touch on this same subject in his address the following day. “We try to bring in a different dimension each year in terms of the speaker that we have,” says Pritchard. “We feel we want everybody to have a broader perspective rather than a ‘uni-dimensional’ approach from someone within the cruise industry itself.”

While these two experts may not work in the cruise industry, they have built their career around something that is growing increasingly crucial to the success of cruise lines the world over: their food and beverage service. Cruise ships, particularly smaller ships, are continuing to fine-tune their food offering to a level equal to some of the best landside restaurants. As Pritchard puts it, “There is far more emphasis on restaurant quality food versus what was at one time just feeding large numbers of people.”

There is more concentration on presentation, quality, food matching and food and wine pairing. Portion sizes have decreased while quality has gone up, and there is a healthier approach to food that results in more staples such as fish and vegetarian options. As well, food and eating have become a part of the entertainment, with regular onboard cooking and wine-tasting courses being offered.

“Today people have more of an experience of being totally indulged,” says Pritchard. “It’s become much more of a ‘less is more’ approach. Rather than just feeding people massively, food is more cared about. It’s about a dining experience versus a feeding experience.”

— Roma Ihnatowycz