SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic – Delegates from all over the world and every facet within the private and public sectors, along with roughly 100 cruise executives, began to gather in Santo Domingo on Monday, October 25th for the FCCA Conference & Trade Show.
The start of the Conference was marked by the FCCA Golf Classic, which brought together some of the key players of the cruise industry and its destination partners in teams of four to discuss the latest trends and gather business advice over a friendly game of golf. The day also allowed for the attendees to situate themselves and for the Trade Show participants to prepare their booths for the crowd composed of nearly 1,000, while the FCCA Platinum Members had a chance to start their one-on-one meetings.
Tuesday was the official grand opening for the Trade Show, with the audience gathered to see some of the best offerings from the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and more. It also marked the beginning of the one-on-one meetings and workshops that continue all the way through the Conference’s close. It also officially commenced the event with the Conference Opening Ceremony, which sparked enough interest in the Dominican Republic to reach its president, Leonel Fernandez, who was able to listen to the speeches of the Honorable Francisco Javier Garcia, minister of tourism; Michele Paige, president of the FCCA; Kevin Sheehan, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line and chairman of the FCCA; Richard Sasso, president and CEO of MSC Cruises; and the winners of the FCCA Foundation’s Essay Contest. The ceremony also commemorated the Dominican Republic’s culture with song and dance from Carnival and a welcome party at the Museo de las Casa Reales.
Wednesday brought together the CEOs, presidents and ministers for private meetings to foster further communication and relationships between the cruise lines and the destinations’ governments, while continuing with the one-on-one meetings, workshops and Trade Show. The day culminated at the decadent Dominican Republic Night Extravaganza at the Sans Souci Cruise Terminal.
Thursday was another successful day, as the attendees concluded their meetings and workshops and began to make plans to pursue the relationships formed throughout the event and possibly to attend next year’s event in San Juan, Puerto Rico, taking place from October 3-7, 2011. The night closed with a cocktail reception and a closing party to make the participants completely comfortable as they finalized this year’s discussions and prepared for the times ahead.
