ENSENADA.- Baja California's Secretary of Tourism (SECTURE) participated in an annual convention held by the Cruise Ship Association of Florida and the Carribean, in an effort to continue to promote the cruise ship industry in the state with the goal to make it the second most important port in the country.

According to Jesus Escobedo of SECTURE, "A year into this administration's term, we are committed to promoting Baja California as an excellent option to host cruise ships, a goal that was established by Governor Francisco Vega de Lamadrid." We have covered lots of ground with this proposal and participation in this type of event helps foster further growth in the years to come."

The Secretary of Tourism indicated that this is the most important industry event worldwide, and is attended by 90% of the sector's member. The Baja California branch led work sessions with executives and directors of large cruise ship companies such as Disney Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines.

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The diversification of options for tourists is vital to capture the attention of cruise lines, and for this reason the destination has been packaged along with other attractions such as the Gastronomic Tour, the Cultural Tour, the Sea of Cortez Tour, the Ecotourism tour, among others.

"The surge in gastronomy, wine, and craft beer are magnets and executives were very interested in this proposal. Of equal importance were cultural attractions such as the Wine Museum and the Children's Museum (Museo del Caracol) in Ensenada and we now offer an Adventure Tour, which was a huge plus for our negotiations."

Escobedo stated that they expect this year's numbers to show a 49% increase in cruise ship arrivals in the port of Ensenada when compared to 2013, with an economic impact of around 37.2 million dollars; the best for this industry since 2008.

Finally, Escobedo indicated that executives of the Princes Cruises company have promised to visit Baja California at least five times in 2015, with the goal of increasing arrivals and designing strategies to make the entity become one of the most important destinations in Latin America.

The annual Cruise Ship Association Convention took place from October 6th to October 10th, with at least a thousand in attendance. Representatives of various cruise lines, tour operators, and government officials were present.

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