Aquila pushes cruise tourism training and youth engagement at SOTIC 2026

Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence used the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s SOTIC 2026 in Guyana to spotlight how destinations can capture more economic value from cruise arrivals. The company also ran a youth workshop aimed at developing the next generation of tourism leaders.

Why it matters: - Cruise tourism can do more than move passengers through ports. Destinations can use it to support local businesses, strengthen community benefits and spread spending deeper into the economy. - Caribbean tourism leaders are also looking at workforce development. Aquila’s youth session showed how the cruise sector can become a pipeline for future tourism managers, entrepreneurs and public-sector leaders.

What happened: - Aquila Center for Cruise Excellence presented a Cruise Masterclass at the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s State of the Tourism Industry Conference 2026 in Georgetown, Guyana. - The session was titled “Maximizing Destination Value Through Cruise Tourism.” - Aquila delivered the masterclass with CTO and the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, where Aquila serves as the official training partner. - On Tuesday, Oct. 6, Beth Hatt led a 90-minute workshop for youth leaders serving as junior ministers and commissioners of tourism.

The details: - The masterclass focused on four areas: understanding the cruise industry and guest expectations, creating and capturing value locally, strengthening destination readiness and delivery, and extending economic and community benefits from cruise tourism. - Participants examined how ports, tourism organizations, governments, operators, attractions and communities can work together to create a more connected visitor experience. - The session challenged attendees to identify practical opportunities and commit to one action they could implement in their destinations within 90 days. - Hatt said cruise arrivals create “tremendous opportunity” for destinations and that the goal is to build on those arrivals through better experiences, stronger local businesses and broader benefits for the destination economy. - Aquila said its perspective draws on more than four decades of tourism operations experience and 18 years of cruise industry training with Caribbean destinations. - Aquila also pointed to its Saint John Living Lab in Canada, where cruise experiences and operations are observed, tested and refined in a working destination environment. - The youth workshop explored the evolution of the cruise industry, career and entrepreneurial opportunities across the sector and the role young people can play in shaping its future. - Hatt said cruise tourism is about the people who deliver the experience, the businesses and communities that benefit from it, and the young professionals who will shape where the industry goes next. - SOTIC 2026 ran in Georgetown, Guyana, Oct. 5-9 under the theme “Tourism Futures: Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive.” - The conference brought together tourism ministers, commissioners and directors of tourism, private-sector executives, industry specialists, media and other regional and international stakeholders.

Between the lines: - Aquila is positioning cruise training as both an economic development tool and a leadership-development tool. - The emphasis on 90-day action steps suggests a push for measurable changes rather than broad discussion alone. - The youth programming signals that Caribbean tourism organizations are thinking beyond current arrivals and into succession planning for the sector.

What's next: - Aquila’s message to destinations is to translate cruise traffic into local value, stronger partnerships and more resilient visitor experiences. - The company’s engagement with youth suggests continued focus on training future tourism talent alongside destination operators. - The company’s training programs remain available for destinations, tour companies, tour guides and front-line operators.

The bottom line: - Aquila used SOTIC 2026 to argue that cruise tourism should be measured not just by ship calls, but by how much lasting value it creates for Caribbean destinations.