Episode 27
In Conversation with MedCruise | Theodora Riga, Port of Thessaloniki
Seatrade Cruise Talks In Conversation with MedCruise, featuring Theodora Riga, president of MedCruise and director of strategic communications at the Port of Thessaloniki. Appointed as head of the association in September, Riga shares her vision for the future of MedCruise, highlighting key initiatives and priorities for the Mediterranean region. She also reflects on her personal journey into the cruise industry, offering valuable insights into her career path and what drives her passion for this dynamic sector.
Transcript
>> Holly Payne: Hello, I'm Holly Payne and welcome to another
Speaker:Seatrade Cruise podcast.
Speaker:Joining me today is Theodora
Speaker:Riga, Director of Strategic
Speaker:Communications at the port of Thessaloniki, who
Speaker:was appointed president of MedCruise in
Speaker:September.
Speaker:Welcome, Theodora.
Speaker:>> Theodora Riga: Thank you very much, Holly. Thank you and the entire
Speaker:Seatrade team for reaching out for the first of what I
Speaker:hope will be many podcasts amongst the trade
Speaker:and MedCruise members.
Speaker:>> Holly Payne: Firstly, what motivated you to
Speaker:run for President of MedCruise?
Speaker:>> Theodora Riga: Well, in my opinion,
Speaker:leading, is serving. ever
Speaker:since I can remember, I always love to
Speaker:serve. I have served as a member of the board of
Speaker:directors of MedCruise family representing
Speaker:different Mediterranean cruise ports. In the last
Speaker:three years I have represented the port of
Speaker:Thessaloniki, a rising port. During this
Speaker:period there has been a significant transformation
Speaker:from port with less than 10 annual
Speaker:calls before the pandemic to a port with
Speaker:more than 80 calls. Therefore, I
Speaker:know through experience the needs of smaller in
Speaker:terms of traffic port members of the Metcruz
Speaker:family. Before that I served
Speaker:on the board of directors representing one of
Speaker:the major ports in the Mediterranean and its adjoining
Speaker:seas, the port of Piraeus. Therefore,
Speaker:the needs of larger ports hosting over a million
Speaker:passengers a year are also very
Speaker:familiar. devoted and have the
Speaker:professional experience to represent and serve the
Speaker:interests of all MedCruise members
Speaker:and promote our shared interests regardless of
Speaker:size, region or country. And
Speaker:really wanted to make this exceptional port
Speaker:families positive impact more consequential
Speaker:for each and all of our
Speaker:159 port members and
Speaker:59 associate members and honour our
Speaker:association.
Speaker:>> Holly Payne: So what is your vision then Theodora, for
Speaker:the future of the association?
Speaker:>> Theodora Riga: MedCruise will be 30 in
Speaker:2026. Since its foundation in
Speaker:1996, MedCruise association
Speaker:has grown to be the largest port association
Speaker:in the world with significant
Speaker:achievements. All forecasts
Speaker:suggest an increase in cruising in the coming
Speaker:years. MedCrews, through the
Speaker:Collective actions of our membership can be
Speaker:instrumental for economic, environmental,
Speaker:and socially sustainable growth for ports,
Speaker:destinations and all stakeholders in the
Speaker:Mediterranean and its adjoining seas. It
Speaker:is in this environment and having the valuable experience
Speaker:of serving as a board member in two
Speaker:different consecutive terms. I believe
Speaker:MedCruise could be the most influential cruise port
Speaker:association in the world. So my
Speaker:vision is that over the next years we will continue to
Speaker:do what we've done so well. We will upgrade our
Speaker:activities and achieve more together and in
Speaker:short, to achieve sustainable cruise growth
Speaker:together.
Speaker:>> Holly Payne: Well, I'm very excited Theodora, to
Speaker:see how the association develops
Speaker:under your leadership. So thank you for
Speaker:that insight and you've told us
Speaker:about some of your experience and in
Speaker:particular your understanding of the larger
Speaker:ports and also the smaller sized ports.
Speaker:But tell us a little bit more about your role
Speaker:at the Port of Thessaloniki.
Speaker:>> Theodora Riga: Well, my m. Role at the Port of Thessaloniki
Speaker:includes leading public relations, corporate
Speaker:social responsibility, sustainability
Speaker:and environmental strategy and of course the
Speaker:responsible development of crews at the port.
Speaker:all this falls under the neat title of
Speaker:Director of Strategic Communications of THP
Speaker:ASA Port of Thessaloniki
Speaker:and includes a tremendously inspired
Speaker:team of professionals. Our purpose
Speaker:is to protect and strengthen the Port
Speaker:of Thessaloniki's image and reputation
Speaker:with the mission of overseeing all
Speaker:communications involving the port, including the
Speaker:development and implementation of the
Speaker:communication strategy and collaboration with all,
Speaker:all stakeholders for the company's sustainability
Speaker:strategy. Also a member of the Board of Directors
Speaker:of Thessaloniki Tourism Organisation,
Speaker:which is an associate member of Met Cruise and the
Speaker:Hellenic Chamber of Shipping representative
Speaker:on the Hellenic government's National Cruise
Speaker:Committee.
Speaker:>> Holly Payne: Wow, that's wonderful. And
Speaker:I personally had the pleasure of
Speaker:visiting the Port of Thessaloniki a couple of
Speaker:years ago and was really
Speaker:impressed by the wonderful work that was going on. There were a
Speaker:lot of developments at that time in terms of
Speaker:infrastructure and enhancements being carried
Speaker:out and I know that as a result,
Speaker:subsequently there's been an increase in the number of
Speaker:cruise calls since then.
Speaker:So that's marvellous. So thank you
Speaker:Theodora as well for that
Speaker:insight, into your role there.
Speaker:And you've been in the industry for some
Speaker:time and this is something that you're
Speaker:using, you're experienced, to bring to
Speaker:Your role at MedCruise your new
Speaker:role of president. But what
Speaker:area of the industry in particular
Speaker:are you really passionate about?
Speaker:>> Theodora Riga: Well, during this mandate I'd like to
Speaker:focus on a number of items. All of these
Speaker:fall under the realm of promoting sustainable
Speaker:cruise growth in the Med and its adjoining seas,
Speaker:upgrading relationships and networking with cruise
Speaker:lines, improving the public image of
Speaker:cruising, sharing best practises and
Speaker:information, generating knowledge, addressing,
Speaker:the regulatory challenges,
Speaker:representing MedCruise in international
Speaker:fora and shaping initiatives and
Speaker:policies and of course also
Speaker:whilst continuing the transformation of MedCruise
Speaker:to a modern business association.
Speaker:There's a lot to do and I'm really,
Speaker:really excited.
Speaker:>> Holly Payne: That's very exciting to
Speaker:hear. So this is
Speaker:modernising and developing the
Speaker:association even further. but
Speaker:in particular, do you plan on continuing
Speaker:the push towards greater,
Speaker:sustainability?
Speaker:>> Theodora Riga: Very much so. This is one of the most
Speaker:important aspects because if something is not
Speaker:sustainable, it does not continue. And MedCruise and
Speaker:Cruise in general is growing, but I
Speaker:think it's more multidimensional
Speaker:marketing activities and stakeholder engagement
Speaker:that will be supported by data that
Speaker:will be important. For example, upgrading
Speaker:networking opportunities for ports,
Speaker:destinations, associate members,
Speaker:stakeholders, and upgrading of course, the
Speaker:cooperation with clia, reaching dynamic
Speaker:markets, promoting the med and source
Speaker:markets. the destinations make such
Speaker:a positive impact with cruise
Speaker:activities, but we'd like to make this impact
Speaker:more measurable and more well known. And
Speaker:I'd like to work with those that can promote the
Speaker:cruise industry but also reverse any negative
Speaker:perceptions. Critics have something to say and I'd like to
Speaker:address their perceptions with data
Speaker:to explain to them what the actual
Speaker:situation is. And of course, events
Speaker:wise, we have a lot of great events planned as
Speaker:well.
Speaker:>> Holly Payne: That's great to hear, Theodora. In particular
Speaker:your talk there about bad publicity.
Speaker:I think that there will be many people who really
Speaker:appreciate that, what you're saying and the
Speaker:effort to tackle that problem.
Speaker:So, going back to your
Speaker:past and your record
Speaker:working within the cruise
Speaker:industry, what led you to
Speaker:pursue a career in this
Speaker:field?
Speaker:>> Theodora Riga: Well, interestingly enough, it was perchance that I began
Speaker:working in the shipping industry in the beginning, in
Speaker:2005. I was interviewing, for a
Speaker:position in the banking sector actually and had
Speaker:received two offers, both from
Speaker:CEOs. Meanwhile, one of the
Speaker:CEOs called the contact that arranged
Speaker:my interview to thank him for sending me to the
Speaker:interview. It happened. This contact
Speaker:was vacationing with a Greek shipping tycoon
Speaker:who overheard and said, why are you sending amazing
Speaker:candidates elsewhere? I'd like to meet this person
Speaker:too. So we met and since I already had
Speaker:two amazing options, I asked for the sky
Speaker:in terms of my offer and he said
Speaker:yes. So I got really, really, really
Speaker:busy working and had amazing results in terms
Speaker:of strategic communications, marketing, public
Speaker:relations, commercial aspects, and even
Speaker:changed some laws along the way. Then it
Speaker:was in, 2017, I accepted an offer for a
Speaker:position at the largest port in Greece,
Speaker:encompassing all of my previous experience. And
Speaker:it just felt great to finally be in an
Speaker:organisation where all my previous colleagues and
Speaker:competitors were now all partners and they needed me to
Speaker:serve. the rest is just history.
Speaker:>> Holly Payne: That is really interesting,
Speaker:Theodora. To hear you share
Speaker:this with us is really
Speaker:wonderful. So thank, thank you. You know,
Speaker:it's been a really inspiring discussion
Speaker:and I for one am really looking
Speaker:forward to seeing what the future holds for the
Speaker:association and seeing your
Speaker:aspirations come to life during
Speaker:the course of your mandate.
Speaker:So thank you. It's been a pleasure, Theodora,
Speaker:and best of luck in your Medcreus M
Speaker:role.
Speaker:Thank you thank you for listening to the Seatrade Trade Cruise
Speaker:Podcast. Don't forget to head over to
Speaker:www.seatrade
Speaker:cruise.com to find out more
Speaker:about podcasts and latest moves
Speaker:and other events that may be coming up.
Speaker:>> Theodora Riga: Bye.
