Buenos Aires, April 9 (NA) – The stand of the National Institute of Tourism Promotion (INPROTUR) at Seatrade Cruise 2026, the world's most important cruise industry fair, will for the first time include private companies linked to this segment. The event will take place in Miami, United States, from April 13 to 16, and Mar del Plata seeks to join the three ports that already receive cruises, two weeks before the end of the 2025-2026 cruise season, which will conclude with the arrival in the country of more than 600,000 tourists. The INPROTUR – Visit Argentina stand will this time feature private companies related to the sector, including Argentina by Vivaterra DMC (a leader in the B2B luxury travel market in South America), Ils Tours DMC (a destination management company with unique experience proposals), Navijet Agents (a shipping company dedicated to providing logistical solutions for the cruise industry), Rotativo Express (a travel wholesaler for incentives) and Rumbo Sur (a Patagonian operator specializing in excursions such as navigation through the Beagle Channel). Argentina's Cruise Ports. In that space, located next to Brazil and The Bahamas, Visit Buenos Aires, the city's official public-private international tourism marketing organization, and the Mar del Plata Municipal Tourism and Culture Entity, an iconic Argentine destination preparing to soon join the country's ports that currently receive cruises: Buenos Aires (407,000 cruisers this season), Puerto Madryn (almost 43,000) and Ushuaia (155,000). "Mar del Plata has already begun its journey to position itself as the fourth cruise-receiving city in Argentina. Thanks to the boost given by President Javier Milei, open skies for tourism now add open seas to receive more and more international tourists," indicated the National Secretary of Tourism and Environment, Daniel Scioli, also president of INPROTUR. 2024/2025 Season. The 2024/2025 season registered a total of 602,000 cruisers in Argentine ports, resulting from the sum of 343,000 on local operation cruises and the nearly 259,000 embarked on transit cruises. The total economic impact of the season was about 374 million dollars. It is considered the main global scenario for closing commercial agreements and forging global strategic alliances. In addition, almost 22,000 jobs were generated, those linked to cruisers and crew members and those related to shipping companies. What is Seatrade Cruise Global. Seatrade Cruise Global brings together executives, cruise lines, suppliers and port agents from around the world to explore trends, innovation and sustainability in the sector. This edition will connect more than 500 exhibitors. What is the average age of cruise passengers. In 2024, the average age of passengers was 46.5 years and 36% were under 40. It is not open to the general public, as it is exclusive to industry professionals. The presence of younger generations is increasingly relevant: seven out of ten cruisers belong to Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) or are even younger, and there is a high level of loyalty among millennials (mid-1990s to 2010) and Generation Z (1997-2012).
