Meetings & Events

FCCA and Partners Bring the Caribbean and Latin America Closer to Europe at Seatrade Med

T

he Caribbean and Latin America were further connected to Europe for the second consecutive year through a joint initiative between the FCCA and its partners. Together with the United States Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Belize, Chukka Caribbean Adventures and Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence, the FCCA attended Seatrade Med and targeted the audience of over 2,300 professionals, including influential cruise executives, through joint trade show space featuring networking receptions, arranged meetings and more. “With the increasingly global nature of the industry, bilateral partnerships abroad are becoming even more valuable,” said Adam Goldstein, vice chairman of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and chairman of the FCCA. “The FCCA has a long history of developing these partnerships, and this initiative offered a proven way for its Caribbean and Latin American partners to get closer to European cruise lines, stakeholders and source markets.” Through its long-standing partnership with Seatrade, the FCCA coordinated a trade show pavilion that

28 FOURTH QUARTER 2018 | TRAVEL & CRUISE

made the focus and showcase the partners, each having an individualized booth and meeting space to capture the attention of and engage the audi-

ence. Additionally, the FCCA fostered engagement by arranging networking receptions, while also leveraging its resources and contacts to help schedule

private meetings with the participating cruise executives. In all, this led to meetings between the FCCA’s partners and Adria Bono, shore excursions director of Silversea Cruises; Jack Cochrane, senior itinerary planner for Carnival UK Group; Jose Negron, vice president of strategic port development for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH); Tine Oelmann, director of destination management and operations of TUI Cruises; Sandraw Weir, vice president of destination development and government relations for NCLH; and Steven Young, vice president, port and shore operations, Carnival UK Group – along with itinerary planning executives from Cruceros Pullmantur, a Costa Cruises destination management executive and many other cruise executives and travel stakeholders. “I am thankful to our partners and Seatrade for making this opportunity possible,” said Michele Paige, president of the FCCA. “The FCCA’s core mission is built on mutual success, and this helped continue connecting the world of cruising for both us and our partners by developing invaluable relationships in and understanding of a key market.”