St. Kitts seeks more cruise business at FCCAConference & Trade Show in St. Maarten

Basseterre, St. Kitts (CUOPM) — St. Kits and Nevis Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Sen. the Hon. Richard “Ricky” Skerritt will push for more cruise ship business for St. Kitts at the 21st Annual Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Conference & Trade Show in St. Maarten.

Minister Skerritt, along with CEO of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Ms. Racquel Brown; Cruise Sector Manager, Ms. Melnecia Marshall and Board Member, Mr. Terrance Williams are among 1,000 cruise tourism stakeholders and 100 cruise executives, presidents and CEOs from the 15 FCCA Member Lines. The FCCA lines operate over 100 ships in Caribbean and Latin American waters.

Also attending are CEO of the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA), Mr. Johnaton Bass; Corporate Affairs and Public Relations Manager, Ms. Marva Burroughs and Sea Port Manager, Mr. Louie Hendrickson.

The event, which began on Tuesday, offers a four-day agenda chock-full of business sessions, networking opportunities and chances to maximize cruise tourism’s impact, along with the attention and knowledge of cruise line personnel who decide where cruise ships call, what to sell onboard and if they should invest in destination infrastructure.

“The [FCCA Conference & Trade Show] gives you direct contact with some of the most influential decision makers in the cruise industry,” said Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line CEO and FCCA chairman in a news release on the event.

The focus is on developing business, relationships and knowledge. The Conference’s business sessions offer this through one-on-one meetings, where attendees have up to three meetings with their selected cruise executives.

There are also workshops which share the executives’, presidents’, CEOs’ and stakeholders’ insight to help attendees learn about topics such as the cruise lines’ latest happenings and route for the future; creating and maintaining a successful tour product; developing a port in partnership with the FCCA, cruise lines and the private/public sectors; and increasing cruise tourism through a unified vision, collaboration between the private and public sectors, and continual product development and innovation.

“FCCA events always give me an opportunity to meet valuable industry stakeholders,” said Adam Goldstein, president and COO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “These are the people who have ideas and projects I want, and need, to know about.”

The Trade Show – the largest in the event’s history-allows exhibitors to target the influential audience looking to source new business and expand existing business. Any booth puts spotlights a product, company or destination, and specialized pavilions showcase a large company or destination as a team, with a roster including destination ministries, port authorities, tour operators and vendors.

Exposure is guaranteed through numerous events hosted there, such as a cruise executive preview before the official opening, an exclusive cocktail reception for cruise executives and Platinum Members, the Conference’s Wednesday night social function and the first FCCA Table Tennis Tournament, hosted by Adam Goldstein.

Traffic is also driven by a business center and the Trade Show’s location itself, with all attendees entering and passing through to access the Conference’s meetings, workshops, business sessions and registration.

Interaction between Conference delegates, Trade Show exhibitors and cruise line decision makers is further spurred by social functions planned by St. Maarten.

FCCA Conference & Trade Show creates the perfect forum for exchanging information, sharing ideas and forging relationships. The continued involvement and invaluable insight of some of the cruise industry’s key decision makers, along with a ratio of about one cruise executive per 10 attendees, make the event one of the best ways to directly target the cruise industry and maximize its benefits.