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Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Tourism advances discussions with Caribbean Ministers on the Southern Caribbean Cruise Initiative

Port-of-Spain, Trinidad –  Senator the Honourable Gerald Hadeed, Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Tourism attended the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Conference and Trade show in St. Maarten on October 6-8, 2014 and held high level talks with Ministers of Tourism of Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent on the Southern Caribbean Cruise Initiative (SCCI). This meeting also included representatives of the Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Development Company (TDC) and the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (PATT).

Following on Cabinet’s directive to progress the Southern Caribbean Cruise Initiative (SCCI), the Honourable Minister Hadeed held discussions with his counterparts from Grenada, St. Vincent and St. Lucia and agreed to the signing of the MOU to implement the SCCI within a one month period and joint marketing efforts. It was also agreed to launch the SCCI at the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) meeting in Porto Plata, Santo Domingo in June 2015.

The Hon. Minister and his Ministerial colleagues concurred to collaborate and network with major cruise line executives to promote the respective destinations on this initiative. During the period of the conference the Honourable Minister paid a courtesy call on the Honourable Thadeus Richardson, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication. Various meetings and discussions were also held with TUI Cruises, the FCCA, idea Inc., Inflot Worldwide Inc. and KPMG.

Mrs. Michelle Paige, President FCCA agreed to support Minister Hadeed in all initiatives in order to pursue the development of the cruise industry in Trinidad and Tobago.

Rudy Grant, CEO, Grenada Tourism Authority.
L-R: Glen Beache, CEO of the St. Vincent and The Grenadines Tourism Authority; Lorne Theophilus, Minister of Tourism St. Lucia; Hon. Alexandra Otway- Noel, Minister for Tourism Civil Aviation & Culture Grenada. Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Tourism Senator the Hon. Gerald Hadeed, Rudy Grant, CEO, Grenada Tourism Authority and Ian Douglas, Minister of Tourism and Legal Affairs Commonwealth of Dominica

Trinidad and Tobago created significant impact at the Conference with top performances by popular soca artist Kes the Band (KTB) and the Alternative Quartet, a revolutionary string musical band who entertained a massive crowd offering a fusion of classical and Caribbean music that inspired audiences.

The FCCA Cruise Conference and Trade Show grants the best opportunity for Trinidad and Tobago to foster business relations with their cruise industry partners and executives to market the destination. It comprises of 15 Member Lines that operate over 100 vessels in several countries including the Caribbean, Latin America and Florida US.

South Florida Caribbean News

The SFLCN.com Team provides news and information for the Caribbean-American community in South Florida and beyond.

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