Destination Trinidad welcomed its largest cruise ship to date earlier today when the MSC Seashore made its inaugural visit to Port of Spain with approximately 3,500 passengers on board.
Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, Randall Mitchell, officially welcomed passengers and crew members to the island during a Crest Exchange that was held on board the vessel. The ship’s Master, Captain Dino Sagani, exchanged plaques with Minister Mitchell – as is customary during a ship’s inaugural visit to a country – which was followed by a tour of the vessel.
In a statement following the exchange, Minister Mitchell said that the arrival of the MSC Seashore and all other cruise ships provided meaningful employment for local entrepreneurs within the tourism sector. He alluded to the overwhelming request for tours by passengers from the ship today and opportunities for tour operators and taxi drivers.
Minister Mitchell said that the government was looking at facilitating opportunities in other areas that can be beneficial across sectors. He said that strides were being made with respect to climate change initiatives and pointed to last Wednesday’s naming ceremony for the Stena Pro Patria, the first low-emission methanol fuelled ship in the Proman fleet.
“There are already fixed contracts for the supply of energy. We expect to have some virtual meetings with the fuel procurement officers at the MSC, Royal Caribbean and other cruise ships to see how best we can supply them, through Proman, with methanol in the future. We are linking not just the fuel bunkering, but we are working with the cruise lines to ensure that we can provide the energy, labour and some of the manufactured goods to these cruise lines,” he said.
Ship Master, Captain Dino Sagani, was intrigued by the development of the island, noting that the Hyatt Regency Hotel was not yet built when he last sailed to Trinidad. He added that today’s inaugural visit went “perfectly” and shared that MSC Cruises was expanding its operations, which represents the possibility of expanding the relationship with the destination.
Also present on today’s tour were Dr. Maryam Abdool-Richards, Principal Medical Officer (Ag) in the Ministry of Health; Simone Thorne-Mora Quinones, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts; Cliff Hamilton, Chairman of Tourism Trinidad Limited (TTL); Carla Cupid, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Trinidad Limited; and Charles Carvalho, Chief Executive Officer of Carvalho’s Agencies.
Disembarking passengers were greeted with live parang, calypso and steelpan music, and were also given a glimpse of the offerings in Destination Trinidad’s Wellness Tourism niche.
The one-day exhibition, held at the Cruise Ship Complex, was hosted by Tourism Trinidad Limited in celebration of Caribbean Tourism Month in alignment with the month’s theme “Wellness”.
Passengers were introduced to samples of food and beverages by local exhibitors who also shared the health benefits associated with their products and services.
The exhibition marked the end of Caribbean Tourism Month celebrations in Trinidad which is observed annually in November.
Video edited by Winston Sobers
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