Cruise ship sector contributes significantly to Jamaica´s economy

A senior official of the Jamaica shipping industry says the cruise ship sector continues to be a vibrant and growing contributor to the island´s economy, earning between US$80 million to US$100 million annually.

Vice President of Cruise Shipping and Marina Operations at the Port Authority of Jamaica, William Tatham, is also predicting that the sector

will grow by 10 per cent growth over the next decade.

Tatham says Jamaica enjoys port calls from some of the world´s major cruise lines including Carnival Princess Cruises, and Royal Caribbean from North America.

European lines such as Aida Cruises (Germany) and Sun Cruises (Britain) have also been calling into Jamaica.

Tatham said however that the local industry was facing stiff competition

from Belize, as the culture and proximity to Mexico is very similar to

Jamaica.

He said that Jamaica falls under what is known as the western Caribbean run, and that Cruise lines tend to package a number of different locations together, such as the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and Jamaica.

"Belize is very similar to Jamaica.very lush destination, it is English-speaking, and close to Mexico, which is very important to the western run," he added.

But he said that Jamaica was, "very fortunate" because unlike some of the other ports, the island "because of its geographical makeup, is able to offer greater diversity of attractions and tours over the other islands".

"We can offer more than say the Bahamas or Cayman islands. According to the cruise lines, we are able to offer more within one hour at our ports of call than any other island and that´s a significant thing," Tatham added.

Tatham said that earlier this year, the Port Authority signed an unprecedented agreement with Carnival Corporation, the largest cruise

company in the world, to enhance visitor arrivals.

He said the US$17.75 million five-year Facility Fee Agreement guarantees the island cruise passenger traffic of 500,000 visitors to the island per year.

According to the terms of the contract, the Carnival Corporation, operators of Carnival Cruise Lines will deliver a minimum of 2.5 million cruise passengers over the contract period which runs from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2008.

Tatham said that never before in the country´s history had any such

agreement been signed. In the past, agreements have been made based on volume discounting, which means that if the cruise lines achieve certain targets, then the destination enjoyed certain discounts.

"This allows the Port Authority to go forward confidently in doing their expansion plans, because we know that the business is there to be had," he said.

Tatham said that similar arrangements were being negotiated with Royal Caribbean, which is the second largest cruise company in the world.