Port focus turns to tourism
(CNS): The new chair of the Port Authority made it clear to representatives from the Cayman Islands Tourism Association and the Association of Cruise Tourism that the port is shifting focus towards their industry to redress the long standing imbalance that the facility has had towards cargo. The first ever chair to convene a meeting with tourism stakeholders, Stefan Baraud told them that within a few months he intended to address a number of their concerns that would improve the cruise passenger experience at the port as an interim measure before the development of berthing.
Baraud promised the two industry body members that shade for passengers queuing for tenders, better organisation of the transport system, improvements to the retail facilities and a more welcoming atmosphere would be created at the port within the next three months. He explained that plans were already in place to erect moveable sails to create shade akin to those in Camana Bay.
The Port Authority board chair, who is also chair of the UDP’s George Town Committee, said the new government was committed to creating berthing facilities and that development would begin within this administration. “There is now the political will to build a cruise berthing facility and one that does not include cargo,” Baraud said, adding that the two need to be separated.
Stressing his intention for open and transparent dialogue with the private sector he asked them to reveal their immediate concerns. Not surprisingly, the need for cruise berthing as soon as possible was at the top of the stakeholders’ agenda. Brynley Davis a Director of ACT said that Cayman was underperforming as a cruise destination in what was now a very competitive market simply because it did not have berthing facilities. “Cayman is now the only significant Caribbean port that does not have some kid of docking facility,” he said adding that the new generation of cruise ships would simply not come if Cayman did not address the issue.
Baraud also noted that the new administration was committed to re-engaging the cruise lines themselves in the development of berthing facilities at the George Town Port, something that the stake holders all agreed was a vital component. Steve Broadbelt, President of CITA said that the previous discussions with Atlantic Star and the last government had not been helpful with regard to the cruise lines and that any proposed development had to include them. “We need them to have skin in the game,” he said, explaining that unless they made some form of investment in any cruise project here there would be no guarantee that they would bring the ships.
Education about the importance of cruise tourism to the economy and the need for a mindset change with regards to how the port was managed were also raised by ACT and CITA. “The public need to understand the value of cruise tourism to Cayman," said Gene Thompson from ACT, who admitted that the association had done a poor job in that respect, but the mentality of the port and its director that it was designed and managed for cargo not cruise tourism also had to change.
Broadbelt also said he believed the messages currently in the public domain about the actual spend per cruise passengers was wrong and that they did in fact spend more than was widely accepted. He said, however, that they needed statistics to back it up and a way of measuring exactly how many people get off currently under the tender system and how much they spend which would help in the campaign to get more people to support the development of cruise berthing facilities.
The members acknowledged that there is still opposition to berthing and it was up to them to begin the campaign to win the argument and promote the benefits to Cayman and Caymanians of the facilities. Stakeholders discussed the Environment Impact Assessment (which was never started) and the idea that past assessments could possibly be used to expedite the process, now that the cargo element had been taken off the table, to analyse the likely impact of a cruise pier on Seven Mile Beach which all stakeholders agreed had to be protected.
During the meeting the issue of how passengers are steered through the Royal Watler facility away from the retail units there, which is extremely unhelpful, was raised by Robert Hamaty. How that could be improved, as well as how that terminal should have more vendors, entertainment and a visitors’ centre were things that Baraud said he could address in the next few weeks.
Category: Headline News
Si, I guess whatever brings the people in to Senor Frogs para dos cervezas must be what is best for the Cayman Islands. Es verdad?
".….be very careful Cayman. You were warned about having inexperienced hands at the wheel !!!"
If 4 years of having the completely incompetent PPM screw up everything they touched wasn’t enough of a warning about inexperienced hands, your post won’t save them.
The good Lord blessed Grand Cayman with a large, easy to develop natural harbour. What is neededto develop a good port would only consume a small portion of it and leave the great majority for its present use,
However, it seems that the Powers that be, would rather waste years of development to convince themselves that the only suitable place to develop a Port is the North Sound.
Wake up Caymanians. Make use of what the Good Lord provided for us and stop letting all the dreamers tell you that they can develop a suitable Port area elsewhere. It is too expensive to even think of trying to develop elsewhere and there is no guarantee that it is even practical.
The amount of fill generated from developing the North Sound could go a long way to paying for its development leaving our children and grandchildren less of a burden to bear.
Take a look at Singapore. An island very similiar to Grand Cayman. They used their reef protected area to develop one of the finest and busiest Ports in the world. They built oil Refineries on their Reef after reclaiming lots of Land with the fill generated from building the Ports. They support a Populatioin exceeding 3 million in an area very similiar to Grand Cayman.
Its time to look at the reality and forget the fantasizing.
The newly appointed Port Authority Board seems to be off to a good start. If you can accomplish the shading for cruise ship passengers that was mentioned in the article. You would have certainly accomplished a lot. We all have been talking about the horrible way we treat paying cruise passengers for the last 10 years and no one has ever seem to want to do anything about it.
Chuckie had the right plan. Develop cruise and cargo at the same time but separate them. If the UDP continues to ignore cargo this country will choke to death…..be very careful Cayman. You were warned about having inexperienced hands at the wheel !!!
Former Minister Clifford and the PPM government were in three negotiations with CI Government, Atlantic Star and the two major cruise lines and the country knew that.
Funny how the President of CITA is now trying to brown nose the new Government by suggesting that the cruise lines were not involved and that this simply wasn’t the best option to pursue without the cruiselines.He knows better and is certainly aware that the cruise lines were involved.
Under the PPM plan the country was going to get new berthing facilities and cargo facilities which were being separated with minimum impact on the environment.
Under the UDP’s plan we will probably get what we got from 2001-2005. All talk and no action…..lots of press statements and no action !
Perhaps thats the best thing that could happen because if they are allowed to proceed with their plan to take the cargo port to East End it will destroy a significant portion of our pristine environment and undermine the Go East policy for the development of tourism in the Eastern districts.
And in all of this UDP rhetoric not one word is said about the environment and how they propose to arrive at the best environmental solution for these facilities.
The environment was at the top of the agenda for this development under the PPM administration.
While the berthing facilities may be a good idea. George Town may not be the best location. Convert downtown into a pedestrian area, put in trolleys which go back and forth daily and put the berthing facility somewhere else , ‘if’ it is really that necessary. Tourists come to the Cayman Islands to see the beauty. Putting a berthing facility will destroy the very reason tourists come here.
It seems the tourists that complain about the berthing facility aren’t the people that spend much money on the island in any event. Isn’t it that stayover tourists spend more on average and tend to be the tourists which are also repeat visitors? Let’s think about sustainable development and the long term effects.
While the berthing facilities may be a good idea. George Town may not be the best location. Convert downtown into a pedestrian area, put in trolleys which go back and forth daily and put the berthing facility somewhere else , ‘if’ it is really that necessary. Tourists come to the Cayman Islands to see the beauty. Putting a berthing facility will destroy the very reason tourists come here.
It seems the tourists that complain about the berthing facility aren’t the people that spend much money on the island in any event. Isn’t it that stayover tourists spend more on average and tend to be the tourists which are also repeat visitors? Let’s think about sustainable development and the long term effects.
Where was the Department of Environment during this discussion? Where they not called into this too! Why does it make sense to destroy the very things that people visit these islands to see? I think it’s about time DOE had more of a bark and a bite!
Good Job Stefan!
The last administration did nothing but confuse the issues. The number 1 priority is to keep the ships coming, even better increase the amount of ships. Without the new docks they wont come. Having the cruise lines themselves take a stake is obvious! The whole Atlantic Star debacle has to be put behnd us, it never made any sense!
Haywood,
you are anoter foolish football monday morning quarterback. What has Stafen DONE! First off there are 5 members of the Board who haven’t a CLUE what the Port Operations consists of except for the gargagethey read in the News or hear on the marlroad.
Let’s get one thing straight, have you ever heard about the Golden Tri-Angle. I wish I could draw a picture so readers can get a better understanding. But in a nutshell it is the cruise business most profitable route. MIAMI, JAMAICA, CAYMAN, or MAIMI, CAYMAN, MEXICO. Cayman being in the most strategic location in that TRI-ANGLE, distance, security and cost wise, what do you think would happen with the cruise companies if they decided to stop visiting Cayman, seeing that they have already planned and sold their Cayman itinerary for the next 3 years?
Let not your heart be troubled friends, there’s plenty of you ou there with an opinion of the greatest and most valuable ASSET we the people of Cayman OWN, i.e. the PORT. Every Investor wants it, Why? Controlling the Port gives full control of the counrty. SO MAC AND BOYS AND GIRLS be careful you do have a huge disaster on your laps.
As to the fencing around the compound, yes its looks uninviting but I want to invite you to visit other major Ports in the world and see if you can freely do as you please and walk around as you please. You may not live to tell about it! The Port do not have armed security guards which is prevalent in Ports throughout the world!!!! So having the fences with Barbed wire is really not too bad, is it?
So readers I suggest that you speak with peronnel at he Port who knows the ins and outs of the Port Operations before you for your opinions and immaginations of its global necessity.
One of the problems of the Royal Watler terminal facilities is that the retail component (the 2-storey building facing the Fort Street /North Church Street intersection) has been located and designed so erroneously that the tenants can be forgiven for complaining about it and the tourists for avoiding it. In fact, it’s so shite that if I were the Port Authority, I would sue the designers for professional negligence. While we’re about it, whats with the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp chainlink fence with the razor-wire? It positively shouts Keep Out! This facility is certainly not tourist-friendly…
I wish to express my honest opinion on the news clipping above. When I read this article to be honest I had to re-read it to make sure I wasn’t listening to some fairy tale story tellers try to discuss Tourism. Wow, where are the little people in all these discussions. The only people that are caught up in these CITA and ACT are agents of the cruise ships who rip off the little man on the street by as much as 75%. Take for instance, Gene Thompson and Robert Hamaty do they care about spreading the wealth? I dear say NO. Who is the president of the CITA that’s not a Native Caymanian name.
What should be done and said is a meeting with ALL stake holders must take place and find out where do we go from here and put the necessary controls in place to better manage the cruise product without interfearence for CITA and ACT XXXXXX.
Last but not least, lets see if cruise tourism can feed the Caymanian people with-out good cargo facilities. What in the world would a crusie dock do for our people if another act of God should take place and the cargo facilities are LOST. Look how long it took the cruise ships to return after Ivan but how quickly the Port Director and his staff put food on our table.
Men and Women of Cayman don’t be fooled Cayman is a strategic location and the Cruise companies know this and will capitalize on our stupidity. We have what they want and they have what we want so we must strike a balance. Let not your heart be troubled the greedy volouchers are ready and waiting for our minister to make a mistake so they can capitalize!
Time to get this show on the Road.
There has been so much talk and no action on this very important income producing subject.
Time ti loosen the grips of those who control the Port Authority and give it some real action.
Would have been good to see some members on the board who really know a thing or two about Port operations though. Same old same old wont get anything done.