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ANTIGUA & BARBUDA STANDS OUT AT CRUISE SHIPPING MIAMI 2013
Monday 18th March 2013

Antigua and Barbuda recently attended the Cruise Shipping Miami (CSM), trade and convention show, held from March 11 – 14, 2013 in Miami, Florida. CSM is one of the largest cruise trade events internationally, which showcases the world’s leading cruise destinations. Antigua and Barbuda continued to stand out as one of the Caribbean’s leading cruise ports of call, as the destination received excellent reviews on its newly redesigned booth display. The booth, which was designed by the Antigua & Barbuda Tourism Authority, featured unique selling points and attractions of the destination that would appeal to the cruise market, and was impressive to numerous participants as well as trade partners at the show.

Leading cruise industry partners were also impressed with the upcoming plans the Antigua & Barbuda delegation shared for enhancing the country’s cruise tourism product.  The island’s official delegation was led by the Hon. John Maginley, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Mr. Conrad Pole, General Manager Antigua Pier Group, Mr. Colin James, CEO Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority (ABTA), Mr. Nathan Dundas, President Antigua and Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association, Mr. Sylvester Brown, Chairman St. John's Development Corporation, Mrs. Charmaine Spencer, Marketing Manager (ABTA), Mr. Dave Joseph, Owner of Wadadli Adventure Park and local tour operators from Coral Island Tours and Wadadli Cats. 


 
The delegates conducted a series of productive meetings with several executives of the cruise lines, which included: Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL), FCCA Operations Committee, Princess Cruise Lines, Holland America, Norwegian Cruise Lines, MCS Cruises, and Carnival Cruise Lines.  Coming out of his meetings with cruise line officials Minister Maginley noted, “The biggest challenge we face as a cruise destination going forward in this industry is trying to encourage passengers to come off the ships to spend more on-island.  We have seen a notable increase in the average ‘Crew Spend’ up from $54USD to $74USD, however ‘Passenger Spend’ has decreased slightly. We have to continue to diversify our product offering so visitors will participate in more on-island activities and events”. 

It was evident at CSM that within the cruise industry the destination continues to put forward a strong product.  ABTA CEO, Colin James, credited this to the on-going successful one-on-one meetings with Cruise Executives and also to the increased visibility of the destination within the cruise magazines.  “This year the destination had excellent visibility at CSM, our booth was one of the most popular at this year’s show and the destination was featured in many of the top cruise industry magazines, such as, Cruise Industry News, Cruise Business Review and the FCCA Cruise Destinations Guide”.

The cruise lines were pleased to hear of the upcoming improvements for the Port of St. John’s.  Sylvester Browne, Chairman St. John’s Development Corporation shared the designs and new plans for the city to the excitement of all the cruise lines.  He further explained, “The cruise lines are really looking forward to the improvements in the Port and lower St. John’s in the near future, especially in the re-organization of the ground transportation areas and infrastructural developments”.  The trade show provided good opportunities for the tourism officials to promote and share product enhancements.  As noted by Mr. Nathan Dundas, President of Antigua & Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association, “CSM presented a great opportunity to reconnect with our cruise line partners and offered the destination the chance to share specific information on our beach enhancement initiatives and improved tours and attractions for visiting passengers”.

Key cruise partners continued to show their confidence and support in the destination by increasing calls for the upcoming season.  Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL), District Governor Relations for Latin America & the Caribbean, Mr. Federico Gonzales reaffirmed RCCL's commitment to working with the twin-island state.  RCCL provides 60% of Antigua & Barbuda’s cruise business, brining over 170,000 passengers to the islands for this current season.  The cruise line has also increased its overall calls to the destination to 70 calls, up from 63 for the upcoming season. Antigua & Barbuda also scored well on RCCL’s customer surveys, receiving above average destination scores in, Destination Appeal, Safety and Overall Visitor Satisfaction. Areas noted for improvement were, Customer Service and Cleanliness. Antigua and Barbuda also ranked highly against scores for the Eastern Caribbean.

Holland America Cruise Lines and its subsidiary Seabourne Cruise Lines also recorded high satisfaction ratings on the destination, with passengers giving Antigua & Barbuda an 8 out of 10 rating for Customer Satisfaction.  For this season, the Holland America cruise line increased its calls to the destination, from 6 calls to 8 calls, and Seabourne doubled its calls to the destination from 13 calls to 26.  Executives from Seabourne Cruise Lines, a high-end cruise brand, also mentioned exploring a second-day call into Barbuda, and offering a beach barbecue day for passengers. As explained by Conrad Pole, General Manger Antigua Pier Group, “Antigua and Barbuda continues to have an excellent relationship with the cruise lines and our goal now is to continue to maximize the cruise passenger experience”.

Overall, it was a very successful and productive week of negotiations for Antigua and Barbuda and as a cruise destination the islands continue to gain positive ground with the upward trend in cruise calls.
 


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