PEMBROKE PINES, Florida, June 2, 2008 -- The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association promoting a better Caribbean cruise experience through its FCCA Outreach Program, which helps educate local Caribbean tourism providers.

On the May 16, Adam Ceserano, VP of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), travelled to Holy Marta, Colombia, to initiate the FCCA Outreach Program.

Ceserano directed a course created to train local cabdrivers, tour guides and local government in the fundamental elements serving the diverse - and often demanding - customers who come from cruise ships. One theme of the course was the L. A. S. T program: "Listen, Apologize, Solve and Thank". The program concentrated on courtesy, professionalism and marketing, as well as the special rules and security considerations of interacting with cruise passengers.

The administration of the district emphasized that Proexport, the port of Holy Marta and FCCA carried out this initiative because they want to make a significant contribution to improving the quality of tourists' experience, and toward the growth of the port as a tourist destination.

"The comprehension of the needs of the client increases the satisfaction and favors the return of the visitors. Even to the smaller scale, [this] enables the increment of the tourism, something that FCCA desires to show, at the same time that provides the necessary know-how", expressed Fidel Vargas, secretary of tourism of Holy Marta.

Understanding the cruise industry and its dynamics is vital in the current tourist environment, keeping in mind that the Caribbean faces established competition from around the world.

FCCA has created a series of available workshops for the Caribbean and Latin America. The training workshops provide information on cruise passengers' desires, needs and habits, facilitating governments and business the maximum one aprovechamiento of the impact of the tourism of cruisers in their respective countries.

FCCA describes itself as follows:

The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association is a trade association comprised of 11 member lines: Carnival Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruises, Coast Cruise Line, Cunard Line, Disney Cruise Line, Holland America Line, MSC Cruises Inc., Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Royal Caribbean International. It was created in 1972 by the member lines that operate more than 100 ships in the water of the Florida, the Caribbean and Mexico, for the purpose of exchanging opinions and points of view about themes related to: legislation, tourist development, ports, protection, security and other questions of the industry of cruisers.