Q & A with José Arriola, New Director General of Pullmantur

Pullmantur and Royal Caribbean are opening a new stage with the arrival of Jose Arriola as their new director general. This change will breathe new life into the company’s philosophy and layout under the direction of a Cuban-American impresario with great character and a leadership style of his own. Caribbean News Digital talked exclusively with Mr. Arriola in his first day at the helm of this cruise company.

Where were you working in before joining Royal Caribbean?
I hail from the private sector, as an entrepreneur with my own businesses for a number of years, though I retired in 2001. Then I tried my hand at politics. I was elected Administrator of the city of Miami and then I retired again. I’d never worked for Royal Caribbean, but I’m very close to the company’s President. So, when that problem between the former front office of Pullmantur and the new ownership popped up, they asked me to come in for a while to revamp the group, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m a member of the group’s Board of Directors, and even though I might not continue in that position, I’m always going to be in that Board of Directors in a bid to give some continuity to the overhaul process.

Royal Caribbean’s position with respect to Pullmantur is to take over a hundred percent of the company, as well as to map out new strategies and policies for the European and Spanish markets. Isn’t that so?
That was the original idea, somewhat forced by the position taken by the former front office. Now it was decided to bring our own staff aboard –it won’t be Royal Caribbean’s- but some new, well-trained people who will become Pullmantur’s management team.

Will the company remain in the same place, the same HQs?
In that respect, everything will stay put. That’s why we don’t want to bring in anybody from Royal Caribbean, and I’m precisely here to make sure this will be a new, fresh group; the creator of Pullmantur’s idea and thinking.

So, we might then assume that Royal Caribbean will give Pullmantur the same image it has today all around the world. Am I right?
Absolutely. That’s exactly what we intend to do; to make Pullmantur’s magic carry on.

However, there’ll be liners run by Royal Caribbean joining Pullmantur’s fleet.
That’s right. RC’s vessels are no doubt the best in the world. We already have the first ship, and now the Empress will be on its way in early March. We received the Sorrent in November. I guess we’ll eventually get the Horizon, and from that moment onward we’ll see other liners coming in.

The purchase of Globalia, from U.S. tour operator M & K, will that have something to do with all this rapprochement between the two companies?
You bet. That’s part of the strategy and the changing things. However, the idea will be the continuation of the Pullmantur product, but making it better with each passing day. We’re upgrading the vessels, the services, the publicity systems, yet the product will remain unchanged but with higher quality.

RC’s access to the European market, especially to the Spanish market, could encourage many American tourists to buy cruise packages, not only making bookings for Caribbean-bound liners, but also for those sailing for Europe.
That’s the idea because we forget that 18 percent of the U.S. population is Hispanic. That segment remains untapped, so the idea will be the same of the Pullmantur product for that segment of the U.S. population.

Is the wedding and party segment of any interest to you?
Yes, because we have many honeymoons and many weddings, and because in the U.S. one of RC’s most sought-after products is the going-out party at age 15. In South America that’s one of the most celebrated dates among girls, and they usually throw big bashes on cruises. There are even some companies that promote this particular segment.

Today is the first day of your official announcement. We’d like to hear you speak a tad about that philosophy you’ve talked to me about at the top of this interview. What’s Pepe Arriola going to do within the Pullmantur company?
Well, important things usually vary in each and every character. I come from a sector in which teamwork was the name of the game, with fast-flowing communication in which the secretary could speak her mind as loud and clear as the President. We used to listen to everybody and everybody had the right to express his or her views. That’s not exactly the system that was in place here, but it’s the one that will definitely set in from this Monday onward.