Cruise tourism for Cayman Brac will be just one topic up for discussion later this month under a delegation being led by Minister of Tourism Charles Clifford to this year’s Florida Caribbean Cruise Association Conference.
The delegation of both Government and private sector representatives will head to the island of St. Kitts for the conference, which takes place from 27-30 September.
This important delegation includes a representative from the District Administration office in Cayman Brac in order to discuss possibilities for getting a dedicated cruise ship to Cayman Brac.
For the moment, the Government has decided to pursue day packages for cruise passengers to Cayman Brac, with national flag carrier Cayman Airways. The Ministry of Tourism will work with both Cayman Airways and Cayman Brac businesses to develop these packages.
Although bringing cruise ships to Cayman Brac is something that has been mooted for many years, there are infrastructural issues that need addressing, and so a better option for the moment is that of day-trips, explained Permanent Secretary with the Ministry of Tourism, Mr. Timothy Hubbell.
Next year the conference takes place at the Westin Casuarina Resort in Grand Cayman from 23-27 October.
‘The Minister is leading a strong delegation to this conference in St. Kitts to help develop business here and to be there to develop and promote the conference taking place here next year,’ said Mr. Hubbell.
Members of the delegation being led by the Minister include Mr. Hubbell; Director of Tourism Pilar Bush; Director of Ports Mr. Paul Hurlston; General Manager Cayman Turtle Farm/ Boatswains Beach, Mr. Kenneth Hydes; President of CITA Karie Bergstrom; and a representative from the Taxi Drivers Association.
According to the FCCA, ‘For many cruise executive, destinations, suppliers and tour operators, the annual FCCA Caribbean Cruise Conference & Trade Show is the premier industry event of the year to meet with key industry players, analyze trends and discuss current issues. It is because of the unique forum provided by the conference that nearly 1,000 cruise industry partners, including approximately 100 cruise executives, attend each year.’
Grand Cayman lost the chance to host the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association’s (FCCA) annual conference last year due to the untimely passing of Hurricane Ivan, but next year’s conference will make up for this.
Around 1,000 cruise industry partners and executives from the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, South America and the United States, had been expected to visit Grand Cayman for the conference.
The conference scheduled for Grand Cayman in October 2004 was quickly located to Barbados following Hurricane Ivan.
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