Ports & destinations

Cruise industry research highlights outstanding St. Kitts' performance

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 19 February 2013 19 February 2013

Demonstrating the economic impact of the growth of St. Kitts' cruise tourism sector, a recent study conducted by US-based research firm BREA (Business Research & EconomicAdvisors) reports significant increases in cruise tourism expenditures and passenger satisfaction, placing the island among the highest-rated destinations in the entire Caribbean in these categories for the 2011/2012 cruise year. The study also reveals growth in cruise passenger arrivals to St. Kitts of more than 400% over the past six years.

The most dramatic increases over the six-year period were in direct cruise tourism spending, which increased nearly ten-fold from $6.7 million to $70.6 million over the six-year period. Average per passenger expenditures in St. Kitts have almost doubled since 2006, while average expenditures across the Caribbean have actually declined by 2%. Average per passenger spend in St.
Kitts was measured at $57.40 in the 2006/2006 cruise year, 40% below the Caribbean average, but increased to $108.90 in the 2011/2012 cruise year, 14% above the Caribbean average.

"St. Kitts' recent outstanding performance in the cruise sector is directly attributable to several initiatives undertaken by Government following the decision to end sugar production in 2005," said Senator Ricky Skerritt, Minister of Tourism & International Transport. "The improvements in downtown Basseterre, the development of shops, restaurants and key attractions, and the increasing the number of certified taxi and tour operators in anticipation of demand growth, have clearly had a very positive impact on the experience that St. Kitts offers to visitors." The Tourism Minister also pointed to the role of the St. Christopher Tourism Authority Prescribed Areas Act which he said, "ushered in the establishment of a greater focus on standards, which were integral to the phenomenal success achieved by St. Kitts in a relatively short time."

The percentage of passengers reporting that they there were extremely or
very satisfied with their overall St. Kitts shopping experience was 74% in the 2011/2012 cruise year as compared to just 47% in the 2005/2006 cruise year. For the 2011/2012 cruise year, results of the study show that St. Kitts ranks #2 in the Caribbean in passenger satisfaction with their overall visit and #2 in passengers reporting that their visit to St. Kitts met or exceeded their expectations. The destination also ranked at #3 in the Caribbean in passenger satisfaction with their shore excursion, at #4 in
average expenditure per passenger and at #6 in total cruise passenger expenditures.

Concurrently, BREA reports substantial growth in cruise passenger arrivals to St. Kitts, which increased from 117,000 in the 2005/2006 cruise year to 629,000 in the 2011/2012 cruise year, an increase of more than 400% as compared to an increase of 13% throughout the Caribbean over the six-year period.



The BREA study was conducted under the auspices of the FCCA (Florida
Caribbean Cruise Association) to analyze the contribution of cruise tourism
on the economies of 21 destinations located in the Caribbean and Central and
South America including Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; the Bahamas; Barbados;
Belize; the British Virgin Islands; the Cayman Islands; Columbia; Costa
Rica; Curacao; Dominica; The Dominican Republic; Grenada; Honduras;
Nicaragua; San Juan, PR; St. Kitts and Nevis; St. Maarten; St. Vincent and
the Grenadines; The Turks and Caicos; the US Virgin Islands.

Panama Canal expansion keeps moving forward

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 23 January 2013 23 January 2013

The Panama Canal Expansion is moving forward to reach its goal of bolstering the waterway’s capacity in order to provide a better service to customers. To date, the program is 50 percent complete.

 

“The program continues to progress and reach milestones while we focus the next phases on building the locks,” said Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano.

 

Beginning 2013, the Expansion Program has completed several projects.

 

Dredging of the navigational channels has been completed. This included both Canal entrances, on the Pacific and Atlantic sides, as well as Gaillard Cut. The remaining dredging work to be done in Gatun Lake is expected to be completed this year.

 

The excavations of the Pacific lock access channel are 70 percent complete. This project calls for the excavation of more than 50 million cubic meters of materials along a 6.1 km span and is executed in four phases. Three of the four phases have been completed and the fourth phase is 69 percent complete.

 

In addition, the first shipment of 47 valves, to be used for the operation of the third set of locks, arrived during the last couple of weeks. These valves are part of the Post-Panamax locks electromechanical system that will regulate water flow between the chambers, the culverts and water-saving basin conduit. A second shipment is scheduled to arrive at the end of January. By the end of 2013, a total of 158 valves (culvert, equalization and conduit), 84 bulkheads and 328 trash racks will have arrived for the project. The valves where built in South Korea by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries

 

Construction of the new locks has a 37 percent progress. The new lock complexes in the Pacific and Atlantic sides will feature three chambers, three water-saving basins per chamber, a lateral filling and emptying system and rolling gates.

 

“We estimate based on the progress that we can begin commercial transits mid-2015,” said the Panama Canal Administrator.

 

The Panama Canal Authority is closely monitoring progress on every component of the Expansion Program to guarantee that contractors comply with the quality required by each contract.

 

The Panama Canal Expansion Program will be the largest project at the Canal since its original construction and will double its capacity to allow more traffic.

MedCruise meets in Heraklion

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 31 January 2013 31 January 2013

Over thirty-five MedCruise port representatives met with the cruise lines in Heraklion in a workshop organized by MedCruise in collaboration with the Association’s member Port of Heraklion. Michel Nestour (Carnival Corporation & Plc.) and Adam Sharp (RCCL) spoke on behalf of CLIA Europe and Vassilios Gazikas represented Louis Cruises.

MedCruise participants included representatives from the member ports of Barcelona, Cartagena, Corfu, Cyprus, Dubrovnik, French Riviera, Heraklion, Livorno, Odessa, Palamos, Piraeus, Sete, Souda/Chania and Venice, and associate members Donomis Cruise Services, Navigator and Intercruises from Greece, and Karpaten Turism from Constantza.

The workshop took place on January 24 and 25 and was moderated by Luis de Carvalho. The first day’s session focused on the issue of the benchmark of port fees in MedCruise ports, and cruise lines, port agents and port representatives, moderated by consultant Luis de Carvalho, shared their views in search of a common understanding of each side’s challenges. MedCruise presented its study “The Benchmark of MedCruise Port Fees”, a comparative study on cruise port fees in the Association’s region.

During the second session, the participants discussed the good practices at ports. The participants spent most of the time on the issue of the berth allocation, using the MedCruise Berth Allocation Guidelines document, but also other issues such as passenger rights and waste management were discussed.

Complementing the work sessions, the group visited the Port of Heraklion and the vessel Costa Magica, and enjoyed the Cretan hospitality at the Raki factory, where they had the opportunity to taste the local gastronomy and to learn about the region’s culture.

Cruise lines, port representatives and port agents were all very satisfied with the whole meeting and left with a better understanding of the issues discussed and each stake holder position and point of view. They all express the feeling of having achieved a new level of dialog that will continue for the sake of the whole industry’s benefit.

Stavros Hatzakos, MedCruise President, was convinced of the success: “It was very positive having all members and cruise lines contributing to the discussion and learning from each other while focusing on several key topics. The berth allocation procedure is a priority for our members and we will continue providing the industry with new ideas for best practices among us. There is more to follow”.

MedCruise’s Director of Professional Development, Maria Cano, from Port of Palamos, expressed her satisfaction: “This second edition of MedCruise’s Day Workshop was a total success, with a number of participants much higher than we had expected for a day workshop.

Port of Galveston and local tourism officials join in marketing effort for port of call

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Ports & Destinations Ports & Destinations

Published: 18 January 2013 18 January 2013

While the Port of Galveston was making inroads into the home port segment of the cruise industry, Galveston had sporadic visits from a variety of world travelers who travel the seas on cruise ships that offer more exotic vacation options.

The Port and local tourism officials have developed a working group to explore how Galveston could market its established Texas tourism image as a “port of call” to show off the island’s many sites and attractions to visitors who arrive by ship looking for a taste of Texas.

The Port understands the itinerary planning process and knows that cruise lines plan more than a year in advance for upcoming cruise seasons. Galveston was patient in developing its home port market, and hopes that its current popularity will encourage opportunities for the port of call market.

To kick off this effort the Port is helping the Galveston Park Board by making space available to install large wayfinding signs at the cruise terminals. The signs are large maps and photos of nearby attractions and provides directions to other activities and sites close to the terminal.

Port Director, Mike Mierzwa enthusiastically supported the sign installation saying, “The Port needs to work with local tourism officials to promote Galveston Island as a destination to expand the Port’s mission as an economic engine for the local economy.  The Port now has the marine infrastructure to handle almost every size ship and port of call cruises could bring hundreds of visitors to the historic downtown, seasonal festivals, and other attractions that make Galveston a vacation mecca for Texans”.

“Working with the Port is a perfect combination to highlight the Port’s maritime facilities and Galveston Island’s tourist attractions”, stated Kelly de Shaun, Executive Director of Galveston Island’s tourism board. “This collaborative effort will provide the cruise lines with inclusive packet with operational capabilities, available tour options and general information about the Galveston region”.

The Port plans to survey and proactively solicit cruise operators and foreign travel agencies that promote charter and group cruise sailings looking for new destinations for their itineraries.  The completion of the Panama Canal expansion, Central American destinations and the tried and true Caribbean island stops make an interesting assortment of ports and can include Galveston in diverse itinerary packages.

The Port of Galveston, Texas’ Star Cruise Port serves as the primary point of embarkation for cruises to the western Caribbean and the Bahamas will service an estimated one million cruise passengers in 2012. Four cruise lines, Carnival Cruise Lines, Disney Cruise Line, Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean, sail from Texas’ only cruise port.