MEDIA

24 Apr 2019

Inauguration of new passenger terminal at Zadar Cruise Port

A ceremony took place at Zadar Cruise Port on April 24th to mark the opening of a new passenger terminal building. President of the Republic of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, attended the event, along with more than 200 distinguished guests.

Global Ports Holding, the world's largest independent cruise port operator, has operated Zadar cruise port since September 2018. Zadar terminal building extends over 18,000 square metres on two-storeys. As part of the event, a special session of the Zadar County Assembly was held at the building, as a part of the County Days that are being marked this month demonstrating the importance of the investment to the local community. The terminal inauguration ceremony was attended by GPH COO, Stephen Xuereb and Zadar Port Authority CEO Mr. Robert Škifić as well as President of The Republic of Croatia Ms. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Prime Minister’s Envoy Zvonimir Frka-Patešić, Assistant Minister in the Ministry of the sea, transport and infrastructure Josip Bilaver and Zadar County Prefect Božidar Longin. At his speech, Mr. Xuereb noted that he believes that together with all stakeholders they will do everything that is possible to bring prosperity and a great future to Zadar, Zadar County and Croatia.

Emre Sayin, CEO of Global Ports Holding, said: “Last year we were very pleased when Zadar Cruise Port joined our global network of 15 cruise ports. The opening of the new passenger terminal marks the next step in the development of Zadar as an exciting and important cruise destination and we are delighted to collaborate closely with the officials in Zadar and the Croatian government in this endeavour. We look forward to bringing our operational and commercial expertise to Zadar.”

Barbaros Özakan, Zadar Cruise Port General Manager commented: “At the beginning of April, we welcomed the first cruise ship to our new terminal, which marked the start of this year’s cruise season. Since then, nearly 10 thousand cruise passengers have passed through and experienced our facilities. We look forward to welcoming many more in the months and years ahead.” Zadar is ideally located on the Adriatic Sea, and the city draws tourists that are keen to experience the beautiful architecture, the UNESCO heritage sites and other leisure activities including national parks. The development of the cruise port is part of the development of the city’s infrastructure as it grows as a key tourist destination and an important part of Croatia’s broader tourism offer.