Cruise Sector On Course For Record – Tourism File
Compiled by Barbados Tourism Authority
Barbados Nation
October 23, 2003
Barbados is on course to welcome a record number of cruiseship passengers to Bridgetown for 2003.
Projections from executives in the cruise tourism sector are for just over 600 000 passengers to visit this year, and well over 700 000 by the end of 2004.
Steady recovery in passenger arrivals has been recorded this year, following a one per cent drop last year, and Barbados has been able to attract new business and also build on existing partnerships.
As part of the new business, the island is currently gearing to handle three new P&O ships for homeporting which are expected to significantly boost arrivals and economic activity for the 2003-2004 winter season.
From November 7, P&O will switch the megaship Oceana from its current base in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to homeport in Barbados. The Ocean Village and Oriana will also follow suit.
The island’s cruise tourism product received a major boost recently, at the 10th Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) conference in St. Maarten.
This annual conference, a meeting point for major players in the cruise business in the Caribbean, was attended by a delegation from Barbados comprising about 30 persons from the public and private sector.
Senator Rudy Grant, the parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport, led the Barbados delegation for meetings with cruiseline executives and other operators.
Included in the delegation were representatives from the Barbados Port Authority, the Barbados Tourism Authority, the Ministry of International Transport and companies like the Bridgetown Cruise Terminal, DaCosta Mannings, Foster & Ince, Ocean Adventures, Jason Jones, Johnson Stables, Caves of Barbados, Tall Ships, Malibu Visitors Centre, the Barbados Golf Club among others.
According to Senator Grant, the FCCA conference was useful in helping Barbados to better position its cruise product and to effectively compete in an increasingly competitive environment.
“Meetings were held at different levels. At the end of the day I think our major objective was to ensure that Barbados as a destination is well positioned to attract more ships and generate more business,” he added.
Several discussions on the industry were also held during the four-day conference where general manager of the Bridgetown Port, Everton Walters, was among those making presentations.
Walters, also a new member of the BTA board of directors, made a presentation on seaport security in Barbados and the wider Caribbean. He also examined some of the challenges facing regional ports.
“The cruise business, with its potential passenger growth, is fast becoming the lifeblood of our regional ports. One mishap, or tragedy could be disastrous for the region. Hence, it is incumbent on all of us to protect this industry.
“This does not mean, however, that exploitation should be allowed by either party. We need to fully cooperate with each other with a firm commitment toward realising mutual benefits,” Walters told the conference.
Newly appointed cruise director of the BTA, Julie-Anne Burrowes, said the FCCA conference offered the opportunity to interact with industry personnel and to develop synergies with regional players in the cruise tourism business.
Meetings with industry experts, she said, allowed for the gathering of strategic information on such areas as cruise conversion, product development and enhancement, future challenges and possible opportunities for the destination.
At the regional level, destinations also used meetings in St. Maarten to discuss initiatives like the Caribbean Village to be staged at the 2004 SeaTrade convention in Miami.
The Caribbean Village is geared to maximise and enhance the promotional efforts of regional destinations and forms part of new cooperative marketing strategies being explored for the benefit of Caribbean destinations.
“Barbados must effectively compete and collaborate at new levels in an increasingly competitive global market. Our efforts must be characterised by coordinated public and private sector partnerships and we must be able to maximise the benefits presented by a dynamic industry,” Burrowes said.
“In order to move forward, we must also be able to build on our strengths, meet new challenges and capitalise on new opportunities,” she added.
From all indications, 2004 is already shaping as an exciting year for the cruise tourism sector in Barbados with the newly commissioned megaship, the Queen Mary 2, set to drop anchor in the Bridgetown Port in January.
Plans are already advanced for a big welcome to the newest and biggest vessel in the business. This welcome is expected to involve agents Goddards Shipping, tour operators Foster & Ince, the Ministry of Tourism, the Barbados Port Authority and the BTA.
In an indirect manner, Barbados also received a major advertisement for its product and capacity at the FCCA conference when it was publicised in conference literature that the island was on the itinerary for Queen Mary 2’s maiden voyage to the Caribbean.
Several destinations have been vying to be included on the Queen Mary 2’s itinerary as the luxurious US $800 million liner is currently creating a global buzz as the most talked about vessel in the industry.
Already, the recent investment of $13 million in dredging the inner-basin at the Bridgetown Port has therefore proven itself as a timely and critical strategic move for Barbados as a leading cruise destination.