Monday, May 29, 2006

The policy of allowing a maximum of 9,200 cruise passengers a day on Grand Cayman is to be enforced by the end of this year, Tourism Minister Hon. Charles Clifford said in Finance Committee last week.

The Minister said recent circumstances had made it difficult to adhere to the policy.

He said that cruise lines ask for berthing rights two years in advance of actual visits and were essentially receiving automatic approval resulting in large numbers visiting Grand Cayman, he said.

A number of initiatives to moderate the impact of the approvals given in the past, including working with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) and the individual lines to adjust their schedules so calls are staggered over the week, should help to keep passenger arrivals down.

In the wake of damage to several Mexican ports following the impact of Hurricane Ivan, Grand Cayman became an alternative destination after the FCCA contacted Government which agreed to help, understanding the problem, and allowed more ship calls to take place, as had other Caribbean countries, which had added to the congestion.

Mr Clifford noted that Grand Cayman continues to be a very popular port of call and features prominently in most western Caribbean cruise itineraries. There was need to maintain this and honour the itineraries already approved, he said.

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