FLORIDA-CARIBBEAN CRUISE ASSOCIATION’S STRONG PURCHASING INITIATIVE
FCCA to Bring Purchasing Initiative to the Forefront of 2010 Cruise Conference and Tradeshow
Pembroke Pines, FL (September 14, 2010) - At this year’s 2010 FCCA Cruise Conference and Tradeshow in Santo Domingo, attendees and exhibitors can expect to see a strong reintroduction into the purchasing sector of the cruise business. Purchasing executives from all of the 15 Member Lines will be present and looking to do business with innovative suppliers to the cruise industry.
“We’ve seen a strong demand from our membership base for the FCCA to return to its purchasing roots,” said James Kazakoff, Sr. Director, Event Operations at the FCCA. “We have been able to deliver this year with a dedicated Caribbean Purchasing Pavilion on the tradeshow floor, as well as tradeshow space allocated for suppliers from other areas of the world.”
Of course, simply allocating space on a tradeshow floor is not enough; the FCCA has promised attendees at this year’s conference a strong representation of Purchasing Cruise Executives, as well as a reintroduction of representatives from broad-line distributors to the cruise lines. This explains why the tradeshow is said to be the main hub of purchasing activity at this year’s conference.
“The idea is to deliver a sustainable product to our supplier attendance base,” said Michele Paige, President of the FCCA. “Our goal is to bring this purchasing initiative to the forefront of our conference. We plan on expanding upon this initiative each year; part of ensuring the growth of this initiative will be properly vetting each of the supplier attendees and exhibitor base coming to our conference. We want to see actual business being done.”
“We are very excited about the prospect of meeting new suppliers to the cruise industry,” said FCCA Chairman and Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Kevin Sheehan. “We look forward to engaging in discussions with the various exhibitors and hope this will lead to valuable business relationships.”
If you would like more information about this topic or to schedule an interview with the FCCA, please contact James Kazakoff via phone (954-441-8881).
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.
