Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA)

Pembroke Pines, FL (September 2013) - The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) has selected the winners of the 2013 FCCA Children’s Essay Competition. Students for this year’s competition were invited to write an essay on the prompt “What makes my destination different from others?”

The contest’s goal is to assist students in furthering their education; let them think about their own destinations and its involvement in the tourism industry; and provide an opportunity to problem solve for the real world

This year’s essay contest attracted entries from 19 countries, and each essay showed the students’ excellence in education and displayed their overall knowledge and awareness in the tourism industry, along with their creativity.

Understandably, it was difficult to pick from such a talented field, but first-, second- and third-place winners were selected from both age groups: the junior division, consisting of students between nine- and twelve-years-old, and the senior division, featuring students between thirteen and sixteen. The 2013 winners are:

Barbados swept the competition, with Azizi A. Alleyne winning the junior division and Yannic Boyce taking gold in the senior division. The first-place winners and their schools receive academic scholarships of $3,000 (U.S.) each, in addition to an invitation with their chaperones to the FCCA Caribbean Cruise Conference & Trade Show Opening Ceremony in Cartagena, Colombia to accept their prizes at the Opening Ceremony on Tuesday, October 1, 2013.

Second place in the junior division was Jacinth Hunkins from St. Maarten, and Ariana T. K. Joseph from Antigua earned the honors for the seniors. Second-place winners and their schools each receive monetary awards of $1,500.

Third place in the junior division was Ercha Stapleton from Nevis, and Netanya Keil from Trinidad & Tobago won it in the senior division. Third-place winners and their schools each receive $1,000.

To reward all the students for their great efforts, all other finalists and their schools receive $200.

The FCCA is proud to reward its destination partners and its talented youth through this annual competition.

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.