Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunications (MinTEATT) Hon. Ted Richardson, left the country on Monday to attend the 30th Annual Cruise Shipping Miami conference that is being held at the Miami Beach Convention Center and runs through March 13.
The three-day exhibition and four-day conference is expected to attract more than 11,000 attendees and feature 140 new exhibitors for a total of 900 exhibiting companies from 127 countries.
"Cruise Convention Miami is a very important conference and considered the industry’s premier annual event. There will be conference sessions such as the state of the global cruise industry, emerging products zone and cruise trends theatre.
"The information derived from the conference on how developments will shape the cruise industry of now and of the future is also very relevant for Sint Maarten as a cruise destination," Minister Hon. Ted Richardson said on Monday.
New for 2014 are three additional State of the Global Cruise Industry panel discussions led by cruise line chief executives addressing trends and developments in the world’s major cruise regions such as the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
The exhibition opens on Tuesday at 9.00am and covers all four halls at the Miami Beach Convention Center and closes on Thursday at 4.00pm.
Represented at the trade show will be the world’s largest shipbuilders, 400 destinations, cutting-edge information technology providers, ship equipment suppliers and entertainment companies.
Since 1985 Cruise Shipping Miami has been the premier annual event of the worldwide cruise industry. From a small gathering of 150 cruise industry executives in New York City, Cruise Shipping Miami has grown into what it is today, the cruise industry’s annual marketplace of ideas, products and services.
Cruise Shipping Miami is exclusively supported by Cruise Lines International Association and Florida Caribbean Cruise Association.
PHOTO CUTLINE: Minister Hon. Ted Richardson.