Miami Beach, FL ( 17th March 2011) -- Antigua and Barbuda was out in full force at Cruise Shipping Miami as the country’s delegation, led by Tourism Minister Hon. John Maginley, held key meetings promoting cruise tourism in the twin-island destination.

The business-to-business event, dubbed “the largest industry exposition of its kind,” attracts over 10,000 exhibitors each year, and gives cruise tourism officials a unique opportunity to remind the cruise industry that Antigua & Barbuda is a destination with a unique product perfectly suited to the modern cruise traveller.

In addition to the display of the wealth of information available about the destination, visitors to the Antigua and Barbuda booth #587, had an opportunity to sample some of the country’s homegrown products such as the award-winning Susie’s Hot Sauce and English Harbour Rum .

Along with Minister Maginley, the country’s delegation included CEO of the Antigua Tourism Authority Colin James, General Manager of the Antigua Pier Group Conrad Pole, President of the Antigua and Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association Nathan Dundas, and other cruise tourism staff and stakeholders. The delegation met with many of the leading executives for all major cruise lines, with an objective to increase calls to Antigua and Barbuda, especially in the slow summer months.

In a joint meeting with executives from the Florida-Caribbean Cruise (FCCA), it was revealed that visitor appeal ratings and cruise customer satisfaction scores for Antigua and Barbuda had increased during the past year. Royal Caribbean, whose lines include Celebrity and Azamara Cruises, and accounts for the largest percentage of cruise passengers visiting the country, Antigua and Barbuda scored 8.4. The growth in overall appeal, satisfaction and friendliness of the locals reached 8.0 respectively,
This score rates in the upper percentile and exceeds the region’s average of 7.2.

The lobbying effort for the destination was also supported by representatives from Tropical Adventures, Stringray City and Heavenly Tours.

Tourism officials met with several smaller cruise lines, including the new Kristina Cruises from Finland who will be making their inaugural call to the destination during the upcoming Winter season, and will be the first ever Finnish operated ship to visit the destination with an average of 330 passengers every two weeks.

“This is a key component of our strategy ? to further grow the business by diversifying, so that we attract new cruise passengers and new ships to ensure that the economic impact is felt throughout the entire year,” said Minister Maginley.

Today, the delegation also met with Giora Israel, Senior Vice President of Port and Destination Development for the Carnival Corporation to discuss long term strategic planning and the possibility of including Antigua and Barbuda in its Southern Caribbean itinerary. The discussion was very encouraging, and Giora promised to respond to the proposal that was presented at the meeting. He expressed the Corporation’s desire to work with the destination to increase calls, saying that “Carnival has a total commitment to the Caribbean.”

607,000 cruise passengers visited Antigua and Barbuda in 2010, and this figure is expected to grow to 625,000 by the end of 2011.