MIAMI, Oct. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) and Royal
Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) today announced the signing of a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government of
Saint Lucia to form a joint
venture to manage the existing cruise pier and terminal facilities
in Saint Lucia, and to design,
construct and operate a new cruise port on the island.
As part of the MOU, Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean and
the government of Saint Lucia will
establish a long-term concession agreement to formalize the terms
and responsibilities for the joint venture to manage and operate
the current cruise pier and terminal facilities at the Port of
Castries. Additionally, the joint
venture will design, finance, construct and operate a new cruise
port in Vieux Fort on the southern
part of the island that will be able to accommodate the latest and
most innovative ships in the cruise industry.
Prime Minister of Saint Lucia Honourable Allen Chastanet has called the signing of the
MOU "historic" and "a major step towards enhancing Saint Lucia's tourism product."
"Saint Lucia has had record
breaking cruise arrivals over the past few years and we thank our
partners Carnival Corporation and Royal Caribbean for their
continued confidence in our amazing destination," said Prime
Minister Chastanet. "It is essential that we continue to diversify
what we have to offer, grow our brand and ensure that different
sectors in our island's economy benefit from the growth in cruise
tourism and that Saint Lucians can benefit from the opportunities
which arise from the increased numbers; which means we have to
improve our capacity. This signing is historic, as this project
will have a major impact on the sustainability of the cruise sector
and the reach of cruise tourism to the south of the island. This
will also mean employment at several phases of the project, the
expansion of existing businesses and the formation of new
enterprises. We look forward to this partnership as this marks a
new day and a significant achievement for our government, for the
people of the south of Saint Lucia
and for our island as a whole."
"This is an exciting day for our guests who already love the
beauty and deep culture of Saint
Lucia and an important step in sustaining cruise tourism
growth for the island," said Giora
Israel, senior vice president of global port and destination
development for Carnival Corporation. "We look forward to working
closely with our JV partners to give cruise passengers great
experiences when visiting the island. With the new
development project, Saint Lucia
will be very well-positioned for jobs and significant economic
impact for years to come."
"The cruise market is the fastest growing sector of tourism and
in the next decade cruising in the Caribbean region is anticipated to increase by
40%," said Michael Bayley, president
and CEO of Royal Caribbean. "We are excited to partner with the
Government of Saint Lucia to
ensure that the destination directly benefits from that growth,
while giving more guests the opportunity to visit this unique gem
in the Caribbean."
Together, the cruise line brands of Carnival Corporation and
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. currently account for 75% of all
cruise ship deployment to Saint
Lucia. Under the new agreement, the joint venture would
optimize the experience for guests visiting Saint Lucia while developing additional cruise
infrastructure to support the industry's latest ships and promote
the growth of cruise tourism on the island.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel
company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the
cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of nine of the
world's leading cruise lines. With operations in North
America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise
Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn,
P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises,
P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.
Together, the corporation's cruise lines
operate 103 ships with 244,000 lower berths
visiting over 700 ports around the world, with 18 new ships
scheduled to be delivered through 2025. Carnival Corporation
& plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours,
the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon.
Traded on both the New York and London Stock
Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only
group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the
FTSE 100 indices.
With a long history of innovation and providing guests with
extraordinary vacation experiences, Carnival Corporation has
received thousands of industry awards – including recognition by
the Consumer Technology Association™ as a CES® 2019 Innovation
Awards Honoree for the OceanMedallion™. A revolutionary wearable
device that contains a proprietary blend of communication
technologies, the OceanMedallion enables the world's first
interactive guest experience platform transforming vacation travel
on a large scale into a highly personalized level of customized
service. The prestigious CES Innovation Awards honor outstanding
design and engineering in consumer technology products.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de,
www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.
ABOUT ROYAL CARIBBEAN
CRUISES LTD.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is a
global cruise vacation company that controls and operates four
global brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises,
Azamara and Silversea Cruises. We are also a 50% joint
venture owner of the German brand TUI Cruises and a 49% shareholder
in the Spanish brand Pullmantur Cruceros. Together these
brands operate a combined total of 63 ships with an additional 13
on order as of June 30, 2019.
They operate diverse itineraries around the world that call on all
seven continents. Additional information can be found on
www.royalcaribbean.com, www.celebritycruises.com,
www.azamara.com, www.silversea.com,
www.tuicruises.com, www.pullmantur.es, or
www.rclinvestor.com.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc