Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA)

Pembroke Pines, FL- (April 21, 2006) - The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) has released the theme for their annual Children's Essay Contest, Why Should My Destination be on a Cruise Ship's Itinerary?

The FCCA encourages participation from any and all destinations. It is a competition that is meant for the benefit of all the participants. Not only does it promote children's creativity and generate general awareness of the cruise tourism's role, it gives them the opportunity of fine-tuning their scholastic skills. The contest has been instated for over ten years and now has two categories: a junior division for children ages 12 and under and a senior selection for children 13-16 years old.

The primary aim is to assist students in progressing their education. The top three winners from both categories receive academic scholarships of $2,500, $1,500, and $1,000 in addition to a separate monetary award, which is given to their schools. The first prize awards also permits the winners to read their essays and accept their prizes at the tenth annual FCCA Caribbean Cruise Conference & Trade Show. Each school must submit their entries, one from each age category, to their country’s selection committee no later than Monday, July 3, 2006. Each country is to submit the original essays written in English for their two winners (one from each age category) to the FCCA no later than Monday, September 4, 2006. Faxed essays & copies will be disqualified!! Thereafter, the FCCA will notify all winners by September 11, 2006.

Contest rules and guidelines are distributed through the Ministry of Tourism or tourism office in each destination. Further information can also be provided by Monica Rojas of the FCCA, tel. (954) 441-8881, fax: (954) 441-3171, e-mail: mrojas@f-cca.com.

Created in 1972, the FCCA is a not-for-profit trade organization that provides a forum for discussion on tourism development, ports, safety, security, and other cruise industry issues and builds 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 maximize cruise passenger, crew and cruise line spending, as well as enhance the destination experience and increase the amount of cruise passengers returning as stay-over visitors. For more information, visit F-CCA.com and @FCCAupdates on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.