Tourism Partners Collaborate to ensure Continuous Enhancement of Saint Lucia's Cruise Tourism Product

CASTRIES - Tuesday, 7 May 2019- The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority has collaborated with the Ministry of Tourism, Invest Saint Lucia, and the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority to ensure continuous enhancement of Saint Lucia's Cruise Tourism Product. 
 
A record, 760,306 cruise passengers visited the Saint Lucia during the 2018 calendar year, owing to an expansion of Berth #1 at Pointe Seraphine, which allowed Port Castries to accommodate Vista, Quantum and Freedom Class vessels. With 2019 projecting to be an even greater year for cruise, the aim is to ensure that onshore businesses deliver to international standards.
 
On May 7 and 8, 2019, two hundred and forty officers ranging from onshore businesses to the health sector, will convene at the Bougainvillea Conference Room of the Bay Gardens Hotel. Under the guidance of Trainer and International Business Development Manager, Claudine Pohl of Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence, the officers will become certified frontline experts in customer service.
 
The training exercise caters to 120 participants on each day and is facilitated through the capacity-building avenue under the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) Customer Service and Frontline Training Initiative.
 
Aquila's Center for Cruise Excellence offers training programs in the areas of Tour Operator Excellence, Tour Guide Excellence, and Port Excellence, all designed to for cruise destinations around the world to achieve excellence in their ports, tours, guides and businesses. Aquila is highly respected within the cruise industry and has been named as one of the best tour operators in the world by cruise executives.
 
Pohl has varied roles in the Center for Cruise Excellence, which include leading workshops with tour operators, ports and destinations around the world, and she leads in the delivery of Aquila's International Tour Guide Excellence Certification Program, ACE Tour Operator Designation and FCCA Customer Service and Front-Line Training.
 
Excellent customer service is an essential aspect of our tourism product and in an effort to ensure that best practices are adopted, following this training, frontline officers will be evaluated in their respective lines of duty.
 
For more information about the island's cruise tourism product, visit http://stlucia.org/

About Saint Lucia
One of the Windward Islands of the West Indies' Lesser Antilles, Saint Lucia (pronounced Saint LOO-sha) is nestled halfway down the Eastern Caribbean archipelago. The "Helen of the West Indies," Saint Lucia is known for its natural beauty and diverse attractions, including the signature Piton Mountains - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - a tropical rainforest and one of the world's few drive-in volcanoes.

Culturally rich offerings include the bustling marketplace in the capital of Castries, quaint fishing villages along the coastline, and the annual Soleil Saint Lucia Summer Festival. Saint Lucia's wide range of accommodations includes world-class five-star resorts, all-inclusive resorts, intimate inns and value-oriented properties. Saint Lucia is also home to world class cruise and yachting facilities. The island is continually recognized as one of the leading Wedding and honeymoon destinations worldwide.
 
About the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA)
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.