Cruises hit high

by ANTOINETTE CONNELL

antoinetteconnell@nationnews.com

CRUISE SHIPS IN the multiples are flowing into Barbados with seven arriving last Saturday, five expected today and six more on Sunday.

The gains are expected to be significant since Barbados has now doubled the US$6 head tax on visitors to US$12 after 29 years in single digits.

Minister of Tourism and International Transport Ian Gooding-Edghill, in expressing his pleasure at the number of ships calling, said the arrival of the five cruise ships today was a compliment to the continued strength and positive image of the Barbados brand.

“However, I am cautioning the Barbadian public, including all stakeholders, not to take the country’s success for granted and to do everything possible to protect the valuable Barbados brand against all threats,” he told the MIDWEEK NATION yesterday, while lauding the continued hospitality of Barbadians and the hard work of the ministry and the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI).

Gooding-Edghill could not state the actual number of visitors landing on island but said today’s vessels had a combined maximum capacity of 7 568 passengers and included the Royal Caribbean Oddessy Of The Seas, which has a passenger capacity of 3 844 and was calling at Barbados for the first time. The other ships due to arrive today are the Aurora (1 878), Evrima (214), Viking Sea (930) and Sirena (702).

While there will be other ships calling daily into next week, the next very busy day on Sunday will see the arrival of the Queen Victoria (2 014), Iona (5 206), Marella Discovery (1 830), Sea Cloud (64), Sea Cloud II (74), Club Med 2

(372) with a total of 9 560 passengers.

Barbados, the minister said, was already benefiting from the increased passenger head tax which started last November after consultation with overseas travel stakeholders.

“We gave them a time period to implement it because we did not want to disrupt business. We did presentations and talked them through it and it hasn’t impacted business.

“This hard work is intended to achieve the goal of seeing the financial benefits from trickling down to pouring through the economy for a wide range of people to benefit. The ministry and the BTMI are not letting up and, rather than doing so, are further intensifying our efforts to continue to grow and develop the cruise sector in particular, the tourism industry in general,” he said.

Updated strategies

The competitive environment of the cruise sector led to Barbados updating its strategies “to ensure we protect and grow business to the destination,” Gooding-Edghill said.

“The fact that we have had so many passengers arriving on island will have a positive economic impact on Barbados through earnings from the sector. Our objective is to continue to give cruise passengers the best experience on the island and by exposing the passengers to Barbados, [this] would create more awareness of Barbados as a destination and contribute to our growing reputation as a must-visit brand,” he said.

Chief executive officer of the BTMI, Andrea Franklin, said visitors were calling for an immersive experience while on the island.

“Not only cruise passengers, but generally across the board people want to get a more immersive experience and want to participate in activities at the community level. They want to have more local foods. So even in the food and beverages offerings they always say they want to see more local food on the menu and to sample more of them.

“The more authentic local feel is what people are looking for when they are visiting the destination and trying to get involved,” she pointed out.

Of the large numbers anticipated, Franklin said it would redound to the wider economic gains of the country and would mean benefits for the taxi drivers in the port, the attractions and City businesses within walking distance of the Bridgetown Port as the passengers look for the cultural experience of what the Bajan lifestyle entails.