Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA)

Pembroke Pines, FL (August 2012) - The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) has announced the winners of the 2012 FCCA Children’s Essay Competition. Students for this year’s competition were invited to write an essay on the prompt: “What are the memories you would like a cruise passenger to walk away with after visiting your destination?”

Understandably, it was difficult to choose the overall winner in each age category, as each essay showed the students’ excellence in education and displayed their overall knowledge and awareness in the tourism industry, along with their creativity in problem solving.

First-, second- and third-place winners were chosen from the junior division, consisting of students between nine- and twelve-years-old, and the senior division featured students between thirteen and sixteen.

First place in the junior division was Fleur Hendrickx from St. Maarten, and Terrikia Benjamin from Antigua & Barbuda took the gold in the senior division. The first-place winners receive academic scholarships of $3,000 (U.S.) each in addition to a separate monetary award given to their schools. The winners also are invited with chaperones to the FCCA Caribbean Cruise Conference & Trade Show in Curacao on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 to read their essays and accept their prizes.

Second place in the junior division was Dhakiya Liburd from Nevis, and in the senior division, Volton John from St. Vincent & The Grenadines earned the honors. Second-place winners and their schools each receive monetary awards of $1,500.

Third place in the junior division was Quiannah Potter from St. Thomas, and Kinza Andew from Grenada won it in the senior division. Third-place winners and their schools each receive monetary awards of $1,000.

This year’s essay contest attracted entries from 19 countries. The aim of the contest is to assist students in furthering their education while letting them think about their own destinations and its involvement in the tourism industry, along with providing an opportunity to problem solve for the real world. To reward all the students for their exceptional efforts, all other finalists will receive monetary awards of $200.

Created in 1972, the FCCA 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. By fostering an understanding of the cruise industry and its operating practices, the FCCA works with governments, ports and private sector representatives to maximize cruise passenger, crew and cruise line spending, as well as enhance the destination experience and increase the amount of cruise passengers returning as stay-over visitors. For more information, visit F-CCA.com and @FCCAupdates on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.