OREANDA-NEWS. December 11, 2015. Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest travel and leisure company, and its CEO

Arnold Donald were honored by the NYC & Company Foundation yesterday evening during the Visionaries and Voices Gala. They were recognized for their commitment to and support of New York City tourism at the Foundation's travel and tourism awards gala, held at Cipriani 25 Broadway in lower Manhattan, which was once the ticket center for Carnival Corporation's Cunard Line brand. 

"Carnival Corporation and

Arnold Donald have helped create a destination with world-class dynamism and character," said

Fred Dixon, President and Chair of NYC & Company Foundation. "Thanks to Carnival Corporation, New York City is a more appealing and vibrant city; we look forward to joining them in welcoming guests to enjoy and explore New York City for years to come."  

"It means a great deal to me and our 120,000 employees for NYC & Company Foundation to recognize Carnival Corporation and our brands with the Visionaries and Voices award for our leadership and contributions to the economic growth of New York City," said

Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "As the world's leading travel and leisure company, traveling to more than 700 global ports and serving one out of every two people cruising in the world, we know how important travel and tourism is to the economic vitality of New York City. We are proud that our industry and our company can help make a difference, and we look forward to continued collaboration with NYC & Company and many business partners in the City."

Carnival Corporation's brands have been operating out of New York for more than 168 years. The global company's impact makes a unique contribution to the City's vitality as a destination with six of its 10 global cruise brands sailing to and from the city's ports in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Those brands are Carnival Cruise Line, Cunard Line, Holland America Line, P&O Cruises UK, Princess Cruises and AIDA Cruises.

The company's ships out of Manhattan and Brooklyn take guests around the world – including ports of call in England, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Malta, Morocco, Scotland, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, South America, the Caribbean and Florida. These guests often stay in and explore the city before and after their cruises. As a result, Carnival Corporation plays a valuable role in visitor exploration of and spending in New York City.

According to CLIA's Economic Impact Analysis, more than 575,000 cruise passengers industry-wide embarked in 2014 from the Manhattan Cruise Terminal and Brooklyn Cruise Terminals. In 2014, embarking passengers staying overnight in New York City spent \\$113 million, and tourism-related industries received \\$365 million in direct spending in New York.

Visionaries & Voices was attended by more than 350 guests. The event was emceed by

Charl Brown, 2013 Tony Award nominee and originator of the role of "

Smokey Robinson" in Broadway's Motown the Musical. It was recently announced that Charl will reprise his role in the West End production of Motown, opening in London in the spring of 2016. The New York City Football Club was also recognized.