19th Annual FCCA Conference Opened its Doors in Curaçao

The FCCA Conference officially opened two days ago in Willemstad, Curaçao, attracting over 1,000 professionals from throughout the cruise industry and the private and public sectors of cruise destinations, along with anyone looking to extend their contact base, reach and knowledge in the industry.

Conference attendees will engage in a four-day span of one-on-one meetings with the nearly 100 cruise executives inattendance from various departments, including operations, purchasing, marketing and shore excursions.

Workshops are also offered with panelists of the various executives, granting insight to the cruise industry, complete with a CEO - Executive Roundtable; shore excursion operations with separate workshops teaching how to put the wow back into the product and magic of the Caribbean, train tour guides and appeal to the special needs traveler; and a release of the BREA study, profiling the most current research on cruise passenger data in participatingdestinations. To complete the days, evening functions bring the attendees and cruise executives together and foster communication between them.

Additionally, due to the growing popularity and increased demand, the FCCA staged pre-Conference events for the first time. Two workshops were held for October 1, which joined the Care Teams from the various FCCA Member Lines to address their recent efforts and the evolving safety practices, and Jeff James, Vice President & General Manager of Disney Institute, hosted a workshop entitled "Business Excellence" to teach the five most powerful lessons in business. The pre-Conference proceedings concluded with an evening function that brought the early attendees to the Marriot's beachfront for a night of festivities and networking.

In its 19th year, the FCCA Conference & Trade Show provides the best chance for entities doing business or wishing to do business with the cruise industry to increase their contact base with the cruise executives in attendance so that they can present their destination or product and learn what the cruise lines look for in terms of shore excursions, products, services and ports of call. It helps attendees establish a clear vision that will map the road to success in future dealings with the cruise industry.

The FCCA prides itself in bringing together cruise industry representatives with those looking to do business with the lines. It is a symbiotic relationship between them; the more that the destinations and companies progress and learn about the industry, the more that the industry is able to grow and thrive. The FCCA promotes this mutually beneficial connection in most of its operations.