SINT MAARTEN (PORT ST. MAARTEN) – Port St. Maarten in collaboration with the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), will be organizing a Townhall meeting for Tuesday, February 4 from 6.00pm to 7.30pm at the Homeporting Terminal in Point Blanche at the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise & Cargo Facilities.
Entrepreneurs, business owners, managers and the public are invited to attend the townhall meeting. To register, use the following link which will take you to the Port St. Maarten Web Portal: http://201.220.14.28/sxm/MainMenu.aspx?SpecialEvent=1
Cruise sector experts will be present to share their views about the industry as well as other related information that would be beneficial to persons in the tourism-cruise-hospitality sector or to those who would like to enter the local cruise business.
“The townhall meeting approach is a new format that Port St. Maarten has implemented in 2020 with respect to stakeholder and community engagement and knowledge sharing in order to stimulate greater awareness about the cruise industry that would be beneficial to persons interested in breaking into the industry.
“The format of the townhall meeting will afford persons the chance to gain first-hand insight from cruise experts on the current state of the industry, developments and destination trends.
“Cruise tourism is an essential pillar to the national economy. At the heart of the economy are small, medium-sized and large businesses. The townhall meeting is an opportunity for existing mature businesses to be appraised of the latest and new trends and developments related to the interests of cruise passengers when they visit a destination.
“At the same time, the engagement session is also an opportunity for would-be aspiring entrepreneurs and should be considered a road to entrepreneurship in developing niche markets, services and products to an ever changing cruise demograhic.
“Come out and hear what the cruise industry experts have to say and what they are looking for and what cruise passengers expect from destinations. For an entrepreneur in the making, this could help bring that vision to fruition and fill a need in the cruise tourism sector on the island which keeps us at the forefront as a destination. Register today,” Port St. Maarten Management said on Monday.
The FCCA is a not-for-profit trade organisation composed of 19 Member Lines operating over 100 vessels in Floridian, the Caribbean and Latin American waters.
Created in 1972, the FCCA’s mandate is to provide a forum for discussion on tourism development, ports, safety, security, and other cruise industry issue and to develop bilateral relationships with destinations’ private and public sectors. By fostering an understanding of the cruise industry and its operating practices, the FCCA works with governments, ports and private sector representatives to maximise cruise passenger, crew and cruise line spending, as well as enhance the destination experience and increase the number of cruise passengers returning as stay-over visitors.
