Barbados going after home porting market to boost cruise tourism
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| Published on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 |
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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- Home porting has climbed to the top of Barbados’ cruise tourism agenda and very soon the island will be engaging one of the world’s largest cruise operators to boost business to the island.
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| Bridgetown Cruise Terminal |
Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy recently revealed that a meeting has been scheduled between Barbados’ Prime Minister, David Thompson and president of British-based P&O Cruises, David Dingle, to promote Barbados as the most significant home port after Puerto Rico in the Caribbean.
“Because we are so far from North America, unless you are talking about a 7 – 10-day cruise, Barbados cannot compete because it is so far south. So we are pitching our tent where we are strongest.”
Sealy added that cruising as a vacation is currently on the rise and Barbados has been a recipient of that increased business. He added that this was encouraging considering the present challenges affecting land-based visitor arrivals.
“Worldwide trends depict tremendous growth is occurring in the area of cruise travel and the Caribbean continues to be the No. 1 region for cruise. Our long stay arrivals are down 11 per cent year to date and are expected to be between 10 and 12 per cent down at year end. Demand has been dampened significantly but cruise is growing.”
In 2008, 597,523 cruise passengers visited the island and by 2009 that number is predicted to grow significantly. Among the reasons the minister cited as drivers for this positive pattern of growth include the fact that “we are still a very attractive stop; the increase in home porting is another factor; and cruises are growing overall internationally”.
One of the main regions generating these additional cruise travellers is Europe and during the period September 15 – 17, 2009 a contingent from the Caribbean and Latin America travelled to Hamburg, Germany for Seatrade Europe Convention under the Caribbean Village banner. Their primary objective was to promote the unique blend of cultures and exciting product offerings within the region, while reinforcing the Caribbean’s top position among competing cruise destinations.
With Barbados receiving more inbound flights from Europe than any other Caribbean island, as well as the fact that island is visited by the vast majority of the world’s major cruise lines, thus enabling potential visitors from this burgeoning market to easily join their preferred cruise vessels, the minister was confident that the prospects for home porting for Barbados were very bright.
While reflecting on other ways to develop the cruise visitor experience, the minister purported that the separation of cargo and cruise business at the Bridgetown Port was a major consideration going forward if the cruise experience was to become more visitor friendly. Sealy also suggested that there was still revenue growth potential for the island if visitors were able to spend a longer period of time on the island while in port.
“Most ships leave by 4 pm limiting the number of activities people can engage in while on shore, with fine dining being a prime example of experiences they miss out on.” | | | | Reads : 945 | | | |
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