Cruise the Saint Lawrence has announced that René Trépanier, Executive Director of the association, was honored with the 2015 Cruise Award in Fort Lauderdale during a ceremony held during the 2015 Cruise Seminar organized by the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA).

Every two years, the Cruise Award is given to the individual whose remarkable efforts have positively impacted port/cruise industry relations in the western hemisphere.

Candidates are selected based not only on their positive impact at the international level, but also on the benefits generated for regional and national ports.

In the words of AAPA officials: “Regarding the recipient of this year’s award, René Trépanier is broadly recognized as the face of marketing for Destination Saint Lawrence and the driving force behind the cruise industry success of the nine member ports of call spread out along on this vast expanse of commercial waterway in Canada.”

Tony Boemi, President of Cruise the Saint Lawrence, stated that “the honor bestowed upon René Trépanier was hugely merited, reflected favorably on our destination as a whole, and projected the Saint Lawrence on the world stage.”

Québec’s international cruise sector has grown by leaps and bounds in the last ten years.

Cruise the Saint Lawrence has developed and implemented a strategy which incorporates the entirety of Destination Saint Lawrence partners, while honoring the distinctive attributes of each individual port of call.

As a result of this formula, which continues to work wonders, the economic impact of cruise activities in Québec doubled in the period from 2008 to 2012, with forecast growth for the years ahead shaping up to be equally spectacular.