FCCA trade show opens
with more than 50 booths
PHILIPSBURG--The 10th annual conference of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) took off Tuesday afternoon with the official opening of the trade show at Maho Convention Center, boasting more than 50 booths from all over the Caribbean, Central America and Florida.
"There is no better place than the land and people. This shows the Caribbean lives and our island is real Caribbean," stated French side Tourism Commissioner Romeo Fleming at the opening.
Fleming congratulated his colleague of the Dutch side, Tourism Commissioner Theo Heyliger, for realizing his dream to host the FCCA conference in St. Maarten. "He was behind this all the time and always told me we had to push this," Fleming said.
He thanked the FCCA for making St. Maarten/St. Martin "one of the top destinations in the Caribbean." He called on the people of the island to be involved, as this conference and tourism in general could only be "a big success" if everyone worked together.
Heyliger welcomed all in his very short address and said he hoped all would enjoy the conference, using the opportunity to meet with executives and other representatives of the cruise industry. He called St. Maarten/St. Martin "one of the greatest nations in the world," as two countries shared one island.
After FCCA Chairman Micky Arison welcomed everyone, he and FCCA President Michele Paige assisted Heyliger and Fleming in cutting the ribbon at the bottom of the stairs, signalling the way for delegates and guests to go up to the trade show upstairs.
Exhibitors were busy setting up the booths from the morning hours and by the time the trade show opened all had their promotional material displayed on the walls and tables throughout the convention center.
Represented at the trade show are more than 50 tourist boards, port authorities and private sector companies active in the tourism industry.
Tourist boards/offices and ports authorities of various islands are represented, such as Curacao, Aruba, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Barbados, Panama, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Margarita, Dominican Republic, the city of Philadelphia, Belize, St. Lucia, Costa Rica, St. Kitts, Orlando, Colombia, Guatemala, Guadeloupe, St. Barths, St. Eustatius and, of course, St. Maarten/St. Martin.
The private sector associated with the cruise tourism industry of the different countries is also heavily represented at the trade show with separate booths.
Names include Cruise Solutions of Belize, Marietta Corporation, Creassco Cruise Repatriation Assurance, Watapana Tours of Aruba, Diner's Club International, Reed Food Technology, Dolphin Discovery, Tropical Tours of Guadeloupe/Martinique, Saipem of Italy, IPDT of the Dominican Republic, Innovation Design Inc., Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention, Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cake, Kirk Sea Tours of Grand Cayman, Chukka Adventure Tours of Jamaica.
Local representatives included Bakers, SEL Maduro, St. Maarten Small Business Development Foundation (SBDF), St. Maarten Sightseeing Tours, St. Maarten Excursion Operators, St. Maarten Taxi Services, Xaro Tours and Transportation and Carib Trade Medical Supplies.
Some countries have come with relatively large delegations of eight persons or more, such as Panama, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Some delegations are led by the tourism minister or commissioner, such as Curacao, St. Kitts, Antigua and Barbuda.
The evening programme consisted of a welcome party featuring a street carnival. This morning is the official opening of the FCCA conference. The conference, attended by some 800 delegates, lasts until Friday.
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