Aruba and Curacao Ports Authority pen an MoU to Promote Southern Caribbean Cruise Tourism
- Published in Soualiga
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POINT BLANCHE – The port authorities of Aruba and Curacao have made a strategic agreement where they will pursue cruise tourism in the Southern Caribbean and seek relationships with other ports that are in the process of developing their own cruise product. The main objective is to strengthen shipping in this part of the Caribbean from the perspective of commerce and cruise.
Aruba received in 2013 over 688,000 cruise passengers, an 18.2 per cent increase when compared to 2012 when the country catered to over 582,000 cruise passengers.
Curacao in 2013 received over half a million cruise passengers (585,381) or a 34.2 per cent increase when compared to 2012 when the island received 436,068 cruise passengers.
Cruise destinations in the North Eastern and Western Caribbean will be analysing this move to see what it will mean for their destinations and how the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) will view this as well.
The Southern Caribbean cruise market is seen as a developing market which offers a variety of Southern Caribbean, Central and South American cruise stops.
With a number of cruise ships being constructed by the cruise industry annually, cruise watchers are of the opinion that things will balance out and destinations in the North Eastern and Western Caribbean won’t have anything to worry about.
Curacao Ports Authority (CPA) and Aruba Ports Authority (APA) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a one-year period. This is an agreement of mutual interest to promote economic prosperity for both countries through commerce.
The MoU promotes the exchange of information between both ports; as well as looking at competitive advantages within the Caribbean Basin; exploring joint marketing opportunities; and exchanging information about other aspects of the maritime industry. Part of the planning is to sign other agreements with ports in the Southern Caribbean.
The two ports will review the MoU after a year. (SOUALIGA NEWSDAY REPORT)