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2006
2006, July 17: Bahamas port officials are
reportedly in talks with the local cruise shipping sector, discussing plans for
the development of a new cruise ship facility on Grand Bahama island.
The Chairman of the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA,
Hannes Babak, told local news media that talks were also held in June last with
Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruise lines regarding the project.
Mr. Babak said the Port plans to create a new
cruise ship facility that is custom-built to meet the needs of today’s cruise
passengers.
He was quoted as saying: "The cruise ship
industry is growing at a fantastic pace and we should get our share out of it
for Grand Bahama, as this would exactly be the part of the tourism sector that
would fit perfectly for our island."
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GRAND BAHAMA RECORDS
GROWTH IN ARRIVALS
Grand
Bahama recorded a significant growth in cruise arrivals in the month of
April, the last month for which figures have been released, while the rest
of The Bahamas recorded a decline, according to industry information from
the Ministry of Tourism. Just over 33,000 visitors opted to take a cruise
to Grand Bahama in that month, almost doubling the 19,152 sea arrivals of
the same period during the previous year. It reflected a 74 percent
increase.
"Cruise arrivals to Grand Bahama were up significantly by the first port
of entry for the month of April 2006 primarily because Carnival continued
the trend of calling more on Grand Bahama as a first port of call than
they had in the past," according to a Ministry of Tourism analysis.
The year-to-date figures
showed that 167,499 tourists sailed to Grand Bahama for the first four
months of the year which was a 24 percent hike over the 134,412 recorded
in the same period last year.
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He said many Bahamians
could participate through business and employment opportunities created by the
facility.
According to the local
newspaper the “Bahama Journal”, a tourism official said that the reason for the
relocation of the cruise port terminal was to better accommodate and welcome
visitors outside of the industrial zone. The official said at the time the $200
million project, which would be built by the Port Authority and an unnamed
strategic partner, will also be designed with a village concept, consisting of
shops, condos, timeshares and restaurants.
There appears to be broad
concensus that it would be in the best interest of the industry to move the
cruise port from its present location, a position with which Sir Albert Miller,
CEO of the Port Authority, appears to agree.
"There is a consensus with
the cruise lines, with the government and with the Port Authority that it would
be in our interest to move the cruise port from its location at the industrial
harbour.
"We have identified a
location and we are going to go ahead. We have some renderings and we had a
study done of the area and a report should have come in at the end of the month.
We don’t have it yet. As soon as we have that then we will start the process."
Sir Albert added: "Since
all parties concerned are in agreement I think we can make it happen."
Former Co-Chairman of the
Grand Bahama Port Authority Julian Francis had reportedly disclosed previously
that a new cruise terminal was being considered just outside of William’s Town
in Grand Bahama.
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