Comment

Destination South West, the organisation charged with promoting Devon, Cornwall and Dorset ports sites and attractions to cruise companies around the world, has been encouraging cruise lines in Florida to visit the region's ports during a recent trip to Miami and Fort Lauderdale, part-funded by UK Trade & Investment.

During February's visit, Destination South West also signed an International Sister Seaports Agreement with Dante B. Fascell Port of Miami-Dade Florida, the 'Cruise Capital of the World'. The agreement, which was signed in the presence of the Consul General in Miami, Keith Allen, will help Destination South West to access cruise lines operating from Florida and promote the South West a destination for future trips.

"The visit was very successful," said Bob Harrison, Director of Cruise Operations for Destination South West. "We were able to meet all the cruise lines based in Miami and Fort Lauderdale and show them what the South West has to offer as a cruise trip destination, and it was very well received.

"The agreement marks a key step towards raising our profile in the United States. We will be able to access important information on which ships call at the Port of Miami and can work together to market each other's ports to our domestic tourist markets."

Destination South West approached UKTI South West when they were looking to increase calls at the region's ports from the key US cruise industry, which, along with Germany, is the biggest overseas cruise market for the UK. They were put in touch with Christopher Uniacke, a UKTI International Trade Adviser specialising in the marine industry, who signed them up to Passport, a scheme which helps fledgling exporters gain a foothold in overseas markets. Passport provides expert advice and support such as help towards funding trips to target markets, arranging meetings with key contacts through embassies and arranging seminars on the various aspects of exporting.

UKTI were able to help fund Destination South West's recent trip to Miami as well as a previous one, where they hosted an event for local cruise lines, with help from UKTI staff at the consulate, to raise awareness of the South West as a tourist destination.

"We have had tremendous support from UKTI in our bid to raise our profile in the US," said Bob. "The funding they gave us for both trips made it a lot easier for us to get out there and make ourselves known by key industry contacts.

"Our ports have a lot to offer foreign tourists. As well as gateways to the many stunning locations across the South West, they are destinations in their own right, and have a lot to offer visitors stopping off as part of a cruise. Already, we have many cruise liners calling at our ports: last year, we had 84 calls and this year we already have almost 100 booked, but we are keen for more US and German passengers to discover the South West via Ilfracombe, Isles of Scilly, Mounts Bay, Falmouth, Fowey, Plymouth, Dartmouth, Torbay, Portland &, Poole in the future."

Christopher Uniacke, International Trade Adviser at UKTI South West, said: "Destination South West is working hard to promote the region's ports to foreign cruise lines, and getting out in person to important markets to meet key contacts in person is vital to raising your profile. We were pleased to have been able to help Destination South West to meet so many of Florida's cruise lines and to sign this significant agreement with the Port of Miami, which will hopefully bring more cruise tours to the region."

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login