Contact:

Sandra Needham at
207.577.3852 or sneed@maine.rr.com,

or

Amy Powers, Director of CruiseMaine at: Director@cruisemaineusa.com.

Portland, Maine to Host 2008 New England Canada Cruise Symposium

The 10th Annual Canada/New England Cruise Symposium will take place June 17-19, 2008 at the
Portland Regency Hotel in Portland, Maine.

The event will welcome participants involved in the cruise industry from all over New England &
Canada. The program will include topics ranging from security issues to shore excursion programs, to destination marketing. There will be guest speakers representing the cruise line industry, networking sessions and familiarization tours to Southern and Midcoast Maine.

In addition to featuring Portland, Maine as a Port of Call, the event will also provide an opportunity to showcase the New Ocean Gateway terminal, located on the Portland waterfront, scheduled for completion in February 2008. “We are very excited to host the Cruise Symposium,” said Sandra Needham, Executive Director of Discover Portland and Beyond. “With the completion of Ocean Gateway, this is our opportunity to showcase the new terminal”. " Most of the major cruise line executives will be here and will see first-hand how we offer their cruise lines and passengers a “first-class” welcome to Maine’s largest city,” adds Needham. “With other cruise and tourism projects underway in Rockland and Bangor, the timing couldn’t be better to hold this symposium in Maine.”

The symposium will be organized by Needham, along with support from Amy Powers, Director of
CruiseMaine and the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Portland.

Full online information will be posted at a later date at www.portofportlandmaine.com.

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Discover Portland and Beyond’s stakeholders include: The Port of Portland, Portland’s Downtown
District, The City of Portland, The Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Portland, The Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, Freeport Merchants Association, The Kennebunk/Kennebunkport Chamber of Commerce, and the State of New Hampshire.

The CruiseMaine Coalition in partnership with the Maine Port Authority and the communities of Bangor, Belfast, Boothbay Harbor, Bar Harbor, Bucksport, Camden, Eastport, Freeport, Kennebunk-Kennebunkport, Portland, Rockland and several Associate Members including Chase Leavitt & Co., Discover New England, Down East Magazine, FlyBangor, GetEtched, Maine & Co., Maine Office of Tourism, Maine Tourism Association, Maine Department of Transportation, Penobscot Bay & River Pilot’s Association, and the Washington County Commissioner’s Office works to promote these communities to the travel trade, travel media and cruise industry as attractive cruise destinations. We also provide the relative community and business support necessary for these areas to become and remain viable, productive cruise destinations while promoting cultural preservation and responsible tourism.