WHILE BARBADOS recorded its highest number of cruise passenger arrivals last season, a steady decline has been projected over the course of the next two years.
However, chief executive officer of Bridgetown Cruise Terminals Inc., Geoffrey Roach, is not ringing any alarm bells.
“The last official numbers I have seen indicate a decline somewhere in the region of about ten per cent, but of course numbers change all the time, so it is perceived that although there will be a marked decline it is not likely to be a big hit,” he said.
Roach said the projected numbers had also shown a decline for the 2012/13 season but said he was still not worried.
“Right now those projected numbers are likely to be down by 20 per cent or so [for that period] but what I want to say is that is still a ways out and it is likely there will be bookings coming between now and then. It’s like a hotel telling you two years out that their occupancy is going to be down 50 per cent and they don’t know what they’re going to do,” he said.
Roach was speaking to the media after the launch of the 2011/12 cruise season yesterday. He said Barbados had recorded around 750 000 cruise passengers passing through Barbados last year, with 635 000 arriving during the November 2010 to April 2011 cruise season.
Roach said the focus of the cruise industry this year was in increasing passenger spending, as that was more important than numbers.
“The numbers from what we’ve seen these past two weeks are comparable to the start of the season in previous years [but] the indications are that there will be some marginal decline for this season …”
Roach said there would be new cruise arrivals for this season, Kristina Cruises from Finland and the Mein Schiff II from TUI Cruises, a British company.
He also spoke on plans to expand the cruise terminal and the port in general.
“One of the issues is space, so any upgrades have to fall in line with the port’s expansion plans. I am aware of the plan to expand the port with emphasis on the cruise industry, and if that goes ahead we will have to look at how we will have the cruise infrastructure for the future,” he said. (CA)
