Micky Arison to Lead Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association
Micky Arison, chairman of Carnival Corporation & plc, has been named the incoming chairman of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA). Arison will also lead the FCCA Executive Committee, consisting of company leaders from the association's member lines.
The trade association represents the mutual interests of destination stakeholders in the Caribbean and Latin America and FCCA member lines. Created in 1972, it 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.
Albino Supino Di Lorenzo, vice president of cruise operations of MSC Cruises USA, has been named the incoming chairman of the FCCA Operations Committee, which includes operational cruise executives and is involved in frequent meetings with destination stakeholders.
Both appointments became effective on January 1, 2019.
"I am honored to again take the helm as FCCA Chairman," said Arison, who is one of the original members of the Executive Committee and has served as FCCA Chairman in the past for a total of 12 years. "Over the years, I have watched the growth of not only the industry and association, but also the partners we serve. These partnerships and building a foundation for long-term mutual success in the Caribbean and Latin America are more important than ever, with the the industry having matured and developed on a global and macroeconomic scale, so I could not be more excited and encouraged to help destinations and stakeholders maximize the potential win-win situations this dynamic industry offers."
Arison's latest tenure as FCCA Chairman, from 2015-2017, was shorter than his prior decade-long term, but in that time he boosted the FCCA Platinum Membership by adding new benefits and further developed the partnership between the FCCA and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). He also led the globalizing and rebranding of the FCCA's quarterly magazine, Travel & Cruise.
Arison replaced Adam Goldstein, vice chairman of Royal Caribbean Cruises, at the end of his term. "I am honored to have served as FCCA Chairman and extremely proud of the cruise industry's efforts to strengthen relationships with destinations and stakeholders in the Caribbean and Latin America," said Goldstein. "This outreach has become increasingly important with the region facing challenges and opportunities in today's highly competitive and globalized environment, and I am confident that Mr. Arison's leadership will continue to steer the course for mutual success between cruise lines and destinations."
Under Goldstein's direction, the association engaged in initiatives including the Caribbean Is Open / Caribbean for Everyone advertising campaign launched by the FCCA to display the region's readiness for tourism despite the 2017 storms, along with providing life-sustaining supplies, such as sleeping pods and semi-permanent structures, and coordinating many of the relief efforts between the affected destinations and member lines. He also led the restructuring of the largest and only official cruise tourism conference and trade show in the Caribbean, the FCCA Cruise Conference & Trade Show.
Di Lorenzo will replace Carlos Torres de Navarra, vice president, global port & destination development, Carnival Corporation & plc, as part of the committee's standard two-year rotation. Under Navarra, the Operations Committee undertook initiatives such as its first-ever joint destination meetings to work with Eastern Caribbean representatives from the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten and the U.S. Virgin Islands following the historic 2017 hurricane season in order to aid in recovering cruise tourism, building back better and forming lessons learned and best practices to share with the region.
"The term 'partnership' is the most appropriate badge of FCCA and represents all those who embrace and participate in the important work that the association does," said Di Lorenzo. "The past has shown us that by working together we can do remarkable things. Even in the face of extreme adversities, such as devastating hurricane events, cruise lines and destinations joined forces to help our regional partners endure. The FCCA played a pivotal role in engaging the industry to step up."