Cruises News Interview: 20 Questions with Virginia Quintairos

We are pleased to share an interview published in Cruise News with Virginia Quintairos, Managing Director, Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services.

The following text is a translation of the original article. To read the original Spanish version, please click here

1. Congratulations on your appointment as Managing Director of Intercruises. After more than two decades with the company, what does it mean for you to now take on global leadership of the business?
My journey with Intercruises started almost twenty years ago, and it is an honor and a privilege to now lead this fantastic business and our amazing teams. I now have an enormous responsibility to keep building on the foundations we have laid together over the years; maintain our high-quality services and operations, reinforce our close working relationships with clients and partners, and, most importantly, support, lead and champion our Intercruises teams around the world. I am also excited to drive further growth in our business, with new opportunities on the horizon.

2. You have built almost your entire career within Intercruises. What lessons from your years in operations still guide how you lead the company today?
Since day one at Intercruises there is a value that has been instilled in everyone and in everything we do: “We are only as good as our last call”. This means that every call, regardless of location, cruise line and size of vessel is a priority and, while we should celebrate our past achievements, we can never rest on our laurels.

From an operations perspective specifically, it is about humility and practical thinking. Every call is different, the port, the ship, the weather, the crew and the guests, and while careful planning is essential to succeed, agility and being able to react to changing circumstances is just as important. This mindset is embedded in my leadership approach. Every situation must be looked at in its own unique context, and we must have a carefully laid out strategy to drive the future growth of our business, but we must also be prepared to pivot and react as our business environment evolves.

Additionally, I have never just been seated behind a desk and my future plans are no different. I look forward to continue being at the port with our teams, visiting our clients, and spending time with our partners in destination.

3. Intercruises currently manages more than 13,000 port calls a year across more than 400 ports in 50 countries. What are the main challenges today in maintaining consistent service on a global scale?
The challenge is not maintaining standards, because we have robust processes and training in place. The challenge is how we adapt to very different operating environments around the world to ensure those standards remain consistent and flexible enough, regardless of location.

I believe we do this better than anyone else in the industry. This is why we call ourselves “Your Local Partner Worldwide”, because our Intercruises teams adapt to the local destination to deliver the same high-quality service worldwide, regardless of whether the call is in Barcelona, Singapore, Sydney, Vancouver, Port Everglades, Piraeus or Southampton…

4. In recent years the industry has shown enormous resilience. From the perspective of a port services and tourism operator, how has the business really changed compared to before the pandemic?
The cruise industry and its people are resilient. Of this there is no doubt.

There have been changes to the industry since the pandemic. The use of digital tools and implementation of more advanced protocols related to hygiene is clear for everyone to see and has been spoken about numerous times. A bigger change for me is that prior to the pandemic, perhaps some of the value that partners get from working with Intercruises was taken for granted or not prioritized.

Intercruises is a global, experienced business, with the plans, resources and strong relationships to support a cruise line in any situation. During the pandemic our team worked around the clock, going above and beyond to support our partners, even when we were not the appointed operator. This should not be forgotten or taken for granted and is an important and valuable aspect when working with a business such as Intercruises.

5. Cruise lines are looking for ever greater efficiency at port calls, while at the same time more personalized experiences for passengers. How do you balance both demands?
This is a challenge, but in a way they actually are two goals that reinforce each other. Technology, in transport scheduling, guide and staff management allows us to gain efficiency on the operational side, and at the same time enables us to better tailor our operations to provide a more personalized or customized experience or service. On the other side, our local knowledge, dedicated resources to product development and relationships in destination enables us to create more unique and original experiences, perhaps best exemplified with the National Geographic Day Tours. So, a demand for greater efficiency does not reduce personalization, it is actually the best way to enable personalization at scale.

7. Public debate sometimes focuses on tourism saturation. What role do you think companies like Intercruises should play in contributing to more balanced development of destinations?
I understand the concern, and I believe companies like Intercruises have a real responsibility here, supporting the destinations and cruise lines finding the right balance and solutions with the right planning and willingness from all parties.

The focus has to be on efficient planning and operations to support a better tourism flow through a destination. This is where technology, local knowledge and relationships, and operations experience combine to help a destination. The dialogue with cruise lines and destination authorities, facilitated by organizations such as CLIA, Cruise Europe, MedCruise… is very valuable and how we progress as an industry in this area.

Within the more popular destinations, we have to look at the decentralization of tourism, which means excursions to lesser-known locations. For example, I bet almost everyone reading this right now has the word Gragnano written on something in their house. Gragnano is the global home of pasta, near Naples in Italy. We run a National Geographic Day Tour there. Despite its gastronomic importance, rich history and idyllic natural setting, it gets relatively few visitors. This is where companies such as Intercruises can have an impact, delivering memorable and truly unique experiences to guests, and at the same time helping to more evenly distribute the tourism spend.

8. There is a lot of talk about spreading out flows and creating new excursions. What kind of experiences are passengers currently demanding?
This is an interesting question. For the last 15 years we have talked about the increasing demand for authentic, off the beaten track shorex. This is true; if you look at the data from all tourism surveys, this is what guests want, repeatedly. When we look at the data from the last year, we do also see growth in sales of shorex of this type. However, this is dwarfed by sales of shorex to the main city attractions and tourist sights, the bucket list places to visit.

From an Intercruises perspective, we need to find the balance and offer both in the best way. This means developing and promoting more authentic and soft adventure experiences – hiking, cycling, local gastronomy, small groups and genuine contact with local communities. Then at the same time, working on how we most efficiently, in the best interest of all stakeholders, bring guests to the most popular tourist attractions.

9. Which destinations do you think will drive the greatest growth over the next five years?
Asia Pacific remains a major growth opportunity, both in established and emerging destinations. We are especially excited about New Zealand, where our business has grown significantly in recent seasons. At the same time, the Mediterranean season continues to lengthen, and the traditional low season no longer seems quite so low.

More broadly, I think the destinations that will succeed over the next five years are those that combine strong infrastructure, operational reliability and a commitment to sustainable tourism development. The current global environment also reminds us that agility remains essential. Cruise lines and their partners need to be able to adapt quickly to changing circumstances, and that is something our industry has proven particularly good at doing.

10. Artificial intelligence is reaching every area of tourism. Where do you think it will have the greatest impact on Intercruises’ day-to-day operations?
AI will empower our teams and create new opportunities for our business. Our people can spend less time on repetitive administrative tasks and more time on high-value activities that make a real difference and benefit both our business and our partners.

From an operational perspective, AI is a tool that will further enhance efficiency, both in advance planning, such as scheduling staff, guides and vehicles and handling crew movements, and when reacting to changing circumstances, such as assessing how a delayed flight will affect transfer requirements during a turnaround service. We are also exploring AI-enabled solutions in areas such as travel-document checks and intelligent transfer management, including manifest processing, transfer planning and dispatch. In many cases, AI is already supporting this work, but recent developments can further enhance how we operate. I also see AI as part of the solution to better managing guest flows in popular destinations.

The same applies to how we develop our people. We are currently working on an AI-powered training program designed to accelerate learning, consistency and performance. It includes a virtual assistant to support team onboarding, AI-generated video content, analytics to identify opportunities to enhance training, and improved reporting.

Overall, it is an exciting moment in which we can use AI to empower human creativity and decision-making.

11. To what extent is digitalization transforming coordination between cruise lines, ports, authorities and local operators?
It is certainly much better than before and continues to improve. The real opportunity now is greater standardization and connectivity between stakeholders across an entire itinerary. Digitalization, technology and AI will further enable and accelerate this by automating admin work and helping organizations make faster, more informed decisions.

As a business operating in hundreds of ports worldwide, Intercruises is in a unique position to be a bridge for those connections and a business at the forefront of this digital step change.

12. Innovation is often associated with technology, but also with people. How important is talent in such an international organization?
In my opinion, and with all due respect to other ground and port agents, Intercruises has the best team in the world.

We have a tremendously strong culture of internal growth, and many of our most senior team have risen through the ranks in Intercruises over 10, 15 and 20 years. This coupled with new colleagues now learning our ways of working at the port means we have a fantastic balance of experience and new ideas and perspectives.

Let’s not forget, the cruise industry is a people industry, and it is our teams that are interacting with crews and guests at the port. Our talent, our people, and the passion we have on what we do, are the defining factor in our success and our greatest asset.

13. Sustainability is no longer solely the responsibility of cruise lines. What initiatives is Intercruises developing to reduce the impact of its shoreside operations?
Sustainability is not a single initiative; it is about making thousands of better decisions across all parts of the business every day.

We continually look to optimize transport planning, resource allocation and operational efficiency through better scheduling, technology and local expertise. At the same time, we work closely with local suppliers and partners to identify more sustainable ways of delivering services in destination. Sustainable mobility is a key focus. We are moving towards more sustainable alternatives, with ambitious electrification targets for operational vehicles and bus transfers. Our aim is for electric vehicles to account for 80 to 90 per cent of the fleet by 2030. We are also trialing HVO-powered coaches in Benidorm and Malaga, planning an electric-coach pilot in Mallorca in December 2026, and using hybrid jeeps for excursions in Las Palmas.

Some actions are highly visible, while others are much smaller. One initiative we are particularly proud of is our in-house sustainability platform for shore excursions, developed in line with GSTC criteria, which allows us to assess and improve the sustainability of the experiences we develop and deliver.

Sustainability is not an initiative you revisit once a year. It is an ongoing mindset that must be embedded in how we operate every day.

14. Do you feel that both passengers and cruise lines genuinely value sustainable excursions and experiences, or does price still prevail?
The industry has moved beyond the idea that sustainability and commercial success are competing priorities. Cruise lines and their guests are looking for great experiences. We ensure sustainability is built into the design of those experiences by default, so that guests, local communities and destinations all benefit. Our GSTC certification has been renewed until July 2029, and 92 percent of our Mediterranean shore excursions have been evaluated through our sustainability framework, covering 1,940 suppliers, 1,163 products and 295,416 guests. This demonstrates how sustainability can be systematically embedded across a broad product portfolio rather than treated as a niche add-on.

15. You lead a company with hundreds of professionals around the world. How do you build a shared corporate culture in such a decentralized organisation?
I do believe there is something special about Intercruises people. Call it a mindset, a common motivation, or shared values, we have organically developed an incredibly strong identity across countries and cultures.

We communicate well throughout the business, share success and recognize achievements. On paper we have a clear hierarchy, but down at the port, or at the airport, or out in destination we are all one team working towards a single goal in delivering high-quality operations and services to cruise lines and their guests.

16. What qualities do you consider essential for leading a global company in the cruise industry?
Passion, agility, resilience and curiosity.

The cruise industry, and the wider travel industry, is ever-changing. Every year there are unforeseen challenges and opportunities. Even with the best laid out plans, things can change in an instant. You need to be able to adapt, often very quickly, to accept the things you cannot control and manage to those you can to the best of your ability.

Curiosity as to keep innovating, improving and forward thinking. The cruise industry offers many opportunities, and we want to continue leading the way on what we do!

I guarantee almost any leader in the cruise industry can relate to this: You tell your family and friends about your job, and then they ask how you do it, and why you do it. We love what we do, and we are passionate about the cruise industry – if you cannot say that then this probably isn’t the right sector for you.

17. If you had to name three major trends that will shape the port services and excursions business over the next decade, what would they be?
1. AI has an impact – it makes the industry become more efficient, more connected, responsive and better able to manage increasingly complex operations across multiple destinations.
2. All stakeholders navigating through more regulated operations, requiring adaptability and collaboration.
3. Shorex to off the beaten track locations finally has its moment – ongoing increase in meaningful experiences that connect guests with local culture, nature, gastronomy and communities. Also, strong growth in demand for luxury destination services – this means more demand for highly personalized services and exclusive destination experiences, creating new opportunities for innovation.

18. Finally, how would you like the industry to define Intercruises five years from now?
Today, Intercruises Shoreside & Port Services is the world’s leading cruise ground handler and port operations business, and your local partner worldwide, so in five years’ time we should have maintained and strengthened this identity and reputation.

I feel we are now entering a defining era for travel, with significant changes in the wider operating environment creating both opportunities and challenges for the cruise industry. In five years’ time I would like to see Intercruises considered as one of the organizations at the forefront of this change, evolving together with our partners and the wider cruise industry.

19. What has been the most complex moment of your career, and what did you learn from it?
There is not one specific moment, but I have been through a lot of change with Intercruises. The lesson I learnt and my advice for anyone, is to ride the wave of change – embrace it, don’t fight it. Focus on what you can control and try not to worry about that which you cannot.

20. Is there a project or innovation you would personally like to drive during this new stage?
There are a few. Our business in New Zealand is very interesting to me, I see lots of growth opportunities here and overall in the APAC region.

We have some platforming projects and diversification opportunities which we will share more in due time. I am also very excited about the talent pipeline we have at Intercruises and in how we develop the future leaders of our business. However, one area that I find particularly interesting is how we can best serve the growing luxury cruise line market. We have worked with luxury cruise lines for years, but I think we have a major opportunity to grow our activity in this area. Lots of projects and innovations for the future, that’s for sure!

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