MPE CARIBBEAN REPORT NEWSLETTER

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The MPE Caribbean Report Newsletter offers travel, tourism, Caribbean and global news weekly. To share stories, information or intelligence, contact us at info@marketplaceexcellence.com.

MARCH 27, 2023

“Forward Momentum” to Seatrade in Fort Lauderdale

Grenada Tourism Authority CEO Petra Roach and Nautical Development Manager Nikoyan Roberts (second and third from left) with representatives of the Carnival UK team (from left) Sander Groothuis and Jack Cochrane at last year’s Seatrade meeting in Miami

The Seatrade Cruise Global Conference kicks off in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this week from March 27-30.

The conference brings together industry experts and executives from all over the world to discuss the future of cruising, the latest trends, and innovations.

With the theme “Forward Momentum”, this year’s conference will focus on short- and long-term innovations and business plans that will shape the future of cruising.

The conference will also address topics such as home port considerations, luxury cruising, social media, and sustainable experiences.

Caribbean destinations will be prominently featured through creative displays at their trade show booths where they will showcase their offerings and discuss ways to improve the guest experience.

St. Maarten becomes FCCA Presidential Partner

FCCA President Adam Ceserano (center) with St. Maarten’s Minister of Tourism Leo Lambriex and Port St. Maarten CEO Alex Gumbs

The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) has announced that St. Maarten has renewed and increased its strategic development agreement with the organization for 2023.

The new agreement makes St. Maarten a “Presidential Partner”, the Association’s exclusive, capped program limited to three destination partners and focused on their specific goals.

“As we move towards the future, we are excited to partner with FCCA and further develop the business and destination through various initiatives,” said Alexander Gumbs, CEO of Port St. Maarten.

Gumbs explained the package includes employment opportunities for locals where FCCA will provide access to expertise in preparing and implementing a Destination Employment Strategy; Destination Site Inspections for Port Operations and Shore Excursion Executives; priority in Training Opportunities; and Data & Insight on areas such as economic impact, daily spending, calls and passenger volume.

Through the agreement, FCCA will not only guide St. Maarten’s public sector on ways to enhance the product and increase cruise calls, but also will collaborate with the local private sector to create new experiences and maximize opportunities, including the purchasing of local goods and hiring of citizens.

Additional features of the strategic partnership include a focus on converting cruise guests to stay-over visitors, promoting summer cruising, engaging travel agents, creating consumer demand and developing a destination service needs assessment that will detail strengths, opportunities and needs.

Caribbean teams attend Routes Americas

Caribbean nations and territories, along with the inter-governmental Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), attended the Routes Americas airline conference in Chicago last week, with the aim of improving air connectivity and the travel experience in the region.

Delegations focused their discussions on strengthening air capacity and working towards a brighter future for the region’s Caribbean travel and tourism sector.

Routes Americas provides a platform to build high-value relationships with a qualified audience of air service development decision-makers.

Turks and Caicos Islands lift all COVID-19 entry requirements

Josephine Connolly, Minister of Tourism for the Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands will no longer require travelers to submit proof of vaccination against COVID-19 before arriving in the destination.

The vaccination lift, which will go into effect on April 1, 2023, is the result of a rapid decrease in COVID-19 cases and zero new COVID-19-related deaths in recent months.

“We are thrilled to announce this new development and to safely welcome visitors back to our beautiful island destination,” said Josephine Connolly, Minister of Tourism for the Turks and Caicos Islands.

“Our top priority has always been the health and well-being of our residents and travelers, and we are confident that we can continue to maintain a safe environment without these restrictions,” she stated.

Digital Digest

Search like a Pro - Google Search Tips

Google is the number one search engine for everything. Google processes over 99,000 searches every second and more than 8.5 billion searches daily. Let’s look at some ways you can improve your searches on Google.

Use “Quotation Marks” to search for an exact phrase on Google. Google will match the exact text within the quotation marks.
Use the “Site:” command to search for something on a specific website. For example, "site:cnn.com travel and tourism" will bring up text and images related to travel and tourism on the CNN website.
Use the “filetype:” command to search for a specific file type. For example, type “filetype:ppt hospitality” to bring up PowerPoint presentations on the specific subject.
Use the “related:” command to find websites that are similar to your input website. For example, "related:cnn.com" will bring up sites that are similar to cnn.com.
Use the “intitle:” command to search for words that are part of the title of the website page. For example, “intitle:Marketplace Excellence” will bring up all pages with Marketplace Excellence as the page title.

We look forward to your “Feedback” on “Digital Digest” to “include:more topics of your interest”. 😊

Medical Moment

World Health Day takes place on April 7, 2023.

This year the World Health Organization (WHO) will observe its 75th anniversary.

In 1948, countries worldwide founded WHO to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable – so everyone, everywhere can attain the highest level of health and well-being.

This year is an opportunity to look back at public health successes that have improved the quality of life during the last seven decades. It is also an opportunity to motivate action to tackle the health challenges of today and tomorrow.

Editor’s Note: In last week’s Medical Moment, we incorrectly stated that close to 4,400 people lose their lives to tuberculosis and close to 30,000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease annually. The correct frequency of infection and death is daily, underscoring the importance of raising public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of this disease.

MPE Caribbean Report

In this week’s MPE Caribbean Report, we report on St. Kitts’ successful efforts to attract additional summer flights.

Marketplace Excellence Corporation (MPE) is a global public relations, marketing and media company.