The year-long study I did of the cruise ship industry was a real eye-opener for me, and with my accumulated notes I wrote and submitted my paper to the Ministry of Tourism. I wasn’t surprised by the lack of response from the mainland, they were horrified by my project and (so I was told) placed my research on the Pros and Cons of the Cruise Ship Industry in “File 13” where they felt it belonged.
Bequia and the mainland were as different as night and day, and I repeatedly maintained that they could not be placed in the same basket when it came to promoting tourism. At that point Kingstown did not have a cruise ship facility, Eco Tours had yet to be introduced and Fantasea Tours was still a thing of the future. The mainland desperately wanted cruise ships to call but had little to offer in the way of attractions for the passengers. The Ministry of Tourism thought I was out of my mind, I was quite outspoken about the problems the Cruise Ship Industry presented on Bequia and they simply didn’t understand WHY.
The more I watched the cruise ships the more I learned, and one thing became crystal clear; the bigger the ship the more chaos ashore. The passengers were encouraged to save their money for duty free ports and to avoid eating at the local restaurants. When they DID eat ashore it was food prepared by the ship and taken to the beach by tender. Other than the taxi drivers no-one on the island benefited from the large ships, and as the taxis often waited for hours under the almond tree before their vehicles were loaded I wondered how profitable it really was for them in the long run.
On the other hand, smaller ships tended to stay in port longer and the passengers spent money. The crews on these ships were better informed, and as a result the visitors stepped ashore with at least a glimmering of where they were and what the Island had to offer. I noticed that the Yankee Clipper, Mandalay, Amazing Grace and the Windstar (to name just a few) stayed at anchor all day long and throughout the night, and money was spent freely by both passengers and crew at the model boat shop as well as restaurants. These ships were good for the Island.
The country’s treasury was not making any money with the cruise ships, just a nominal anchorage fee. I discovered that when the same ships visited other Island countries such as St. Barth’s they were charged astronomical amounts for the privilege of dropping anchor, on top of which they paid a head tax for each passenger on board along with numerous navigational and customs fees.
My intention was not to kill tourism, my study was factual and fair. Bequia did not have the infrastructure to handle the ships carrying large numbers of passengers. We had no public wash-rooms, the roads were deplorable and school children were begging from the tourists picnicking on the beaches. The vending scene under the Almond Tree was out of control …..it was “dog eat dog” on cruise ship days and something had to be done about it.
I recommended that ships wanting to carry food and drink ashore to feed their passengers pay customs duty on each item. This would act as a deterrent and hopefully keep the children in school! I urged that a head tax be implemented for ships carrying more than 250 passengers. I also advised the collection of an anchorage fee and restrictions on vending without a permit. Although my paper went unread at the Department of Tourism on the mainland it was much appreciated by the Prime Minister, who took immediate steps to implement pretty well all of my suggestions.
My last recommendation never came to fruition; having stressed the need for better infrastructure, I suggested that a percentage of the proposed head tax be used for improvements on Bequia. However, with the help of my research paper the Island’s cruise ship scene became much more controlled and the Treasury was making money. My research hadn’t made me popular in some sectors but that was fine, there was a noticeable difference on cruise ship days and that’s what I had set out to accomplish.
Well done Judy
Thank you for using logic, common sense and doing research to provide a well thoughtout set of objectives to benefit the people of Bequia in many ways! My wife and I have enjoyed our visits to Bequia over the years. During my first trip to Bequia, I helped to launch the Water Pearl and fell in love with the people and the entire ambience of such a magnificent and special place!! May God bless your efforts!!
I don’t recall the date of your suggestions and findings but I certainly have found that the passengers and cruise ships have stoped taking advantage of our pretty island especially where they would take over and litter Princess Margaret Beach. Thank you.
Well done Judy & the Prime Minister to implement your suggestions. I am thankful that the only ship anchored at Bequia was Sea Cloud. She was a beauty!
Times have changed since then, we now get big ships too. I think you got lucky!