By
Rebecca Gibson |
Port of Bar in Montenegro welcomed its first cruise call on 11 May, marking its entry into the Adriatic cruise market.
Operated by Global Ports Holding subsidiary Port of Adria, Bar welcomed Thomson Cruises’ Thomson Celebration at its 280m quay.
The vessel, which is homeporting in Dubrovnik, Croatia this summer, arrived with 1,222 passengers and 550 crew members. After enjoying folk dance performances and sampling local food produce, the passengers were able to take shore excursions to Stari Bar, Skadar Lake and Sv. Stefan. They were also able to explore Bar and visit a local food market in the city centre.
“Port of Adria has all conditions for accommodating large ships and our intention is to enhance these conditions in the future,” said Sedat Kara, acting CEO of Port of Adria.
Following the success of Thomson’s call, Global Ports Holding intends to continue to promote Bar as a cruise port.
“We believe that Bar and Montenegro have great potential in terms of cruise tourism development,” said Arpak Demircan, deputy CEO of Global Ports Holding. “We shall continue to promote Bar in order to increase the number of cruisers and create opportunities for local economy. I believe that good impressions of this first visit shall result in Bar obtaining a significant place on the Adriatic cruise itineraries.”
Officials expect that developing Bar’s cruise market could also have a positive effect on the city’s economy.
“We recognise the significance and possibilities for Bar economy if, in addition to commercial operations, our port was able to attract cruisers as well,” said Zoran Srzentić, president of the Bar municipality. “These are the first, but certainly important, steps in this direction. Therefore, as local government, in cooperation with public companies, we would like to provide necessary support for partners in this process.”