#TradeCall - The Port of Cork welcomed the Mayor of Miami Dade, Carlos A. Gimenez along with his trade delegation from Miami on a courtesy visit to Cork.

The delegation travelled to Cork to sign a sister county agreement between Cork County and Miami-Dade County, four years after the Port of Cork signed a sister port agreement with Port Miami.

Tourism continues as the principal industry for Miami-Dade County, however its close proximity to Latin America and the Caribbean have made it the centre of international trade with these areas while PortMiami is one of the top ten containerised ports in the US and the ‘Cruise Capital of the World.’

Welcoming the delegation to the Port of Cork was Commercial Manager Captain Michael McCarthy who said: ‘Back in 2013 the Port of Cork signed a sister seaport agreement with PortMiami, the ‘Cruise Capital of the World’ and we are delighted today to welcome the Mayor of Miami Dade, Carlos A. Gimenez and his delegation to Cork. The benefit of our sister port agreement with PortMiami has meant we could benchmark Cork’s cruise business with PortMiami who have extensive experience in operating cruise terminals. Since then our relationship with Miami has got stronger and our cruise business has grown significantly.’

He continued: ‘This year we will welcome 68 cruise liners to Cork bringing over 140,000 passengers to the region. These passengers make substantial economic contribution to the region and It is our ambition as a port company to attract larger cruise ships and increase our cruise calls to 75 per year. Already in 2018 the bookings are indicating we will achieve this goal, if not exceed it.’

In 2016 Cruise Critic, the world's leading cruise review site and online cruise community, announced the winners of the inaugural Cruise Critic Cruisers’ Choice Destination Awards with Cork’s Cobh ranked second favourite cruise destination in the British Isles and Western Europe. These awards recognised the high level of effort that goes into ensuring every cruise passenger visiting Cobh has a memorable visit to the region.