BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – St. Kitts pulled out all the stops at the 27th Annual Seatrade Cruise Shipping Miami Convention in Miami Beach, Florida, promoting itself as a premier cruise destination and releasing a new cruise destination magazine. with numerous attractions that is capable of accommodating even the largest of cruise ships.
Key to this effort, St. Kitts debuted a brand new Cruise Destination Magazine created to provide information about the island as a port of call that will be distributed throughout North America and Europe.
“St. Kitts’ participation in this annual event helps us to foster our growth and continued success as a viable, desirable port of call for some of the world’s largest cruise lines,” said Al O’Garro, Chairman of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority’s Board of Directors, who led the delegation.
O’Garro personally thanked all the delegates who helped “showcase St. Kitts as we aim to drive additional cruise business to the island, as well as those stakeholders who contributed to the overall success through their partnership
with the Tourism Authority.”
The Tourism Authority said top executives from various cruise lines and organizations, including Carnival Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea Cruises, the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), among others, were in attendance.
Numerous show attendees visited the St. Kitts booth where representatives provided a first-hand experience of genuine Kittitian hospitality, offering useful information and answering questions about the island and what it can offer cruise passengers.
Representatives also attended various seminars, workshops and roundtable discussions covering the state of the cruise industry and other topics, including how destinations can best work with the cruise industry to create new vacation experiences.
Other members of the delegation from St. Kitts included Donald Freeman, Member of the Board of Directors, St. Kitts Tourism Authority; Melnecia Marshall, Product Standards and Cruise Manager, St. Kitts Tourism Authority; Stacey Gilbert, Product Standards and Cruise Officer, St. Kitts Tourism Authority; Delcia King, Head of Corporate Affairs and Public Relations, St. Christopher Air And Sea Port Authority; Terrence Crossman, General Manager and CEO, St. Christopher Air And Sea Port Authority; Marcellus Phillip, Chief Financial Officer, St. Christopher Air And Sea Port Authority; Errol Douglas, Chairman of the Board Directors, Urban Development Corporation; Errington Fyfield, Manager, Kantours; Denzil Crooke, Executive Director of Delisle Walwyn Ltd; Troy Hendrickson, Owner of Travel Masters Tours and Cherise Lewis, Member of the St. Kitts-Nevis Taxi and Tours Association.
“Seatrade,” is the world’s largest annual cruise industry exhibition and conference, drawing more than 900 exhibiting companies and over 11,000 attendees. Bringing together top industry suppliers cruise line buyers and decision makers from around the world for a three-day exhibition and four-day conference, it serves all sectors of the global cruise industry from shipbuilding through services, technology, operations and destinations.
The event’s Miami location is a vital element in its success, as the city is the primary home port and hub of the cruise industry. In 2010, the show
attracted over 10,000 attendees and nearly 1,000 exhibiting companies from 118 countries.
