St. Maarten praised for following advice of Cruise Industry

CEO Mingo a Panelist representing Caribbean Showcases Destination and Port in Maximizing Benefits of Cruise Tourism

Cruise Shipping Miami 2014, the 30th anniversary edition of the cruise industry’s premier annual event, comes to an end on Friday at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies said on Thursday that Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s Michael Ronan, Vice President of Government Relations, Caribbean, Latin America and Asia, said that cruise destination St. Maarten was one of the few destinations that listened to cruise industry executives and applied the advice into practice.

 

Ronan also highlighted destination stakeholders such as the Dutch Taxi Association that attends cruise conferences and keep pace with cruise industry trends and developments in order to be better able to provide service to cruise passengers.

CEO Mingo upon invitation took part in a panel discussion that included top cruise executives on Monday morning about, "How Can Destinations and Ports Maximize the Benefit of Cruise Tourism?"

In 2013 Cruise Shipping Miami attracted 93 new exhibitors; over 40 per cent of exhibitors closed business during the show; 11,000 attendees walked the show floor; over 900 exhibitors from 123 countries participated;

The speakers who took part in the panel discussion were Arnold Donald, Director of Carnival Corporation since 2001, and was named President and CEO of Carnival Corp. & plc in June 2013.

Richard Fain, has been Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. since 1988. The global cruise company owns six brands: Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Pullmantur, Azamara Club Cruises, CDF Croisieres de France, and the joint venture TUI Cruises.

Kevin Sheehan, has served as the CEO and president of Norwegian Cruise Line since 2008.

Pierfrancesco Vago, served as CEO of MSC Cruises overseeing the company’s operations from its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2004 until he was named executive chairman in September 2013.

PHOTO CUTLINE: CEO Mark Mingo (right) representing the Caribbean region seated with cruise executives during the panel discussion.