Carnival Corporation & plc, the world’s largest cruise company, reaffirmed its commitment to Bermuda recently through a series of high-level meetings and industry engagements on the island, including participation in the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) Air Connectivity Summit.
Marie McKenzie, senior vice president of government & destination affairs at Carnival Corporation, joined fellow industry leaders on the panel “Routes Across the Region” at the Hamilton Princess on Feb. 24. The session brought together leadership from Breeze Travel Solutions, Virgin Atlantic, interCaribbean Airways and Sunrise Airways to address the intra-regional travel landscape.
Panelists explored challenges in inter-island connectivity and multi-destination travel in the Caribbean while identifying opportunities for carriers to strengthen regional flight networks, cruise-air connectivity and homeporting — all critical components to unlocking the region’s full tourism potential. During the panel, McKenzie emphasized that with five Carnival Corporation cruise lines homeporting directly in the Caribbean, there is a major opportunity to better engage regional carriers to link local communities to these ships.
“Rather than solely relying on guests flying in from Europe or North America, we should be leveraging regional air connectivity to make it easier for people within the Caribbean to access these homeports,” she remarked.
“By connecting our local air and sea routes, we can create a truly integrated, multi-destination experience that benefits the entire region.” Beyond the summit, Carnival Corporation engaged in a series of strategic meetings that emphasized the company’s long-term investment in Bermuda.
These meetings included a tourism product development discussion with the Bermuda Tourism Authority that focused on future shore excursion opportunities as well as a security-focused meeting with the Department of Marine & Ports Services and the Bermuda Land Management Corporation as part of a site visit to Heritage Wharf and King's Wharf in the Royal Naval Dockyard. The visit concluded with a meeting with Bermuda’s minister of tourism, Owen Darrell.
“Bermuda is an important and beloved destination for our guests, and these engagements reflect our ongoing commitment to working closely with island partners to deliver exceptional experiences,” said McKenzie. The meetings signal continued alignment between Carnival Corporation and Bermuda’s tourism and port authorities as both parties explore opportunities to enhance the cruise experience, strengthen homeporting infrastructure and drive economic benefit for the island.
