Black Sea Cruise

Between 2021 and 2022, the BLACK SEA CRUISE provided an opportunity to question the traditional model of cruising and yachting in the Black Sea, and to highlight the potential of new small-scale models to support the sustainable development of the activity in the region.

As an alternative to large-scale practices, these new models promise better socio-economic returns for the local community and its cultural and natural heritage.

Through six local workshops in the target countries and other concrete activities, the project has engaged in a structured dialogue with a target group of local and regional stakeholders (policy makers, naval/maritime universities and academies, port associations, commercial operators of cruise lines, ferries and yachts, tourism associations) to explore concrete business opportunities in the region and identify funding and support actions to promote these models.

All in all, while the Black Sea has many assets for the development of small-scale cruising, particularly with the presence of a large number of small ports capable of accommodating small vessels, the transition to these new models requires a number of adaptations throughout the sector's value chain, from construction to the organisation of tours, including the training of future sailors and the digitisation of services. At the same time, cross-border cooperation on the subject appears absolutely necessary to improve coordination and coherence between policy frameworks and operational capacities at basin level. These avenues for adaptation and the associated levers for action are the subject of a series of final recommendations in the report below.

SML was involved as a key partner in the project with ICBSS (International Center for Black Sea Studies) and Climazul.and 6 local partners: Ovidius University in Constanta, Sochi State University (2021), Burgas Free University, Odessa Maritime Academy, Batumi State Maritime Academy and Karadeniz Technical University.