With construction three years ago of a spanking new marina in Port Antonio by the Port Authority, the invitation went out for cruise ships to once again visit the verdant parish. After all, Portland is the birthplace of cruise shipping and, indeed, tourism in the island and its natural beauty is considered stunning.

But all is not rosy in the parish. The anticipated tourism fillip has so far not materialised. The exuberance of a year ago when two ships docked in one week is slowly waning, replaced by concerns that the pier is not attracting the expected visits.

Even when ships arrive, there is a dearth of attractions and an absence of adequate amenities in the run-down capital town. At last count, at least five of the parish’s preferred attractions have been closed or ignored for varying reasons. And many of those that remain open complain bitterly about the extremely slow patronage.

Nonsuch Caves, for instance, is still in operation, says manager Robert Toby. However, “business is, in a word, terrible,” he adds. The breathtaking cave has long depended on cruise ship visitors to keep it viable.

“We built it out of cruise shipping and we have been in the doldrums for a long, long time,” says Toby, who adds that the attraction has been open for 42 years and a family business for the last 35. “We have a beautiful pier-front but no visitors,” he complains.

Patricia King, a long-time tour guide at the cave, explains that when many attractions are open, tours will make a number of stops, including the caves, but there has been a downturn in visitors “especially since last year”.

There is a connection between visitors and attractions in Portland, as illustrated by King. “Now that blue hole (Blue Lagoon) close, it is worse,” she says.

A long-standing impasse at the Blue Lagoon between craft vendors and owners of the popular restaurant sitting at the water’s edge has ostensibly resulted in the closure of the facility after Hurricane Ivan last year September.

While access to the lagoon remains, as the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Polly Perry indicates, the closure of the restaurant has removed the ability of visitors to fully see and appreciate the natural gem. “The restaurant is closed. The lagoon, on the other hand, is public property,” she says. But the walls of the restaurant block proper view of the lagoon from the narrow road.

Reich Falls, another picturesque Portland destination, is now closed and a projected re-opening date remains blank.

“It’s closed for refurbishing,” MP Donald Rhodd says, but queries to the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), which, he adds, is responsible for the property, were referred to the National Land Agency where the questions have run into a dead end.

While reminding that the popular Winifred Beach is not a licensed beach, the UDC says its closure is for improvement. “Our project will seek to regularise, upgrade and provide proper facilities at the beach. It is the intention of the UDC to develop Winifred Beach as a public beach park and an eco-attraction, in keeping with the objective of making Portland a green destination,” a UDC representative tells the Sunday Observer. However, a re-opening date is still uncertain.

“Portland is not capitalising on its potential,” says Veron Braham, a concerned Port Antonio businessman. Braham contends that cruise ship visits will not peak for the next few years but preparations will have to be made for those ships that are currently visiting.

“It will take some time to build up to year-round regularity,” he says, “but what happens is those that have come already might find it difficult to return because of the lack of support services. First visits can be termed exploratory.”

A dilapidated port-of-call could be the first turn-off for visitors.

The run-down appearance of Port Antonio now stands in absolute contrast to the natural beauty that surrounds it and the attractive marina smack in the middle of the town.

“When we come into the harbour it’s the most beautiful sight. Off the ship, it is a stark difference,” one cruise ship passenger was reported as saying.

It has been argued that apart from the general disrepair of the capital town, basic amenities such as laundromats, cafes and well-designated souvenir shops would have to be in place to welcome cruise ship visitors.

“We are encouraging the private sector in the town to open businesses of those sorts,” says Robert Stephens, senior vice-president of business development at the Port Authority. “Those will not only be for cruise ships but also for yachting.”

According to Stephens, it’s a chicken-and-egg situation. “The (Portland) private sector is waiting for tourists to come and the tourists won’t come unless there is something to show them,” he says. The private sector will have to become more excited about the whole programme.”

The Port Authority, which has responsibility for the administration of the new marina, has made approaches to the Port Antonio business community about upgrading buildings in the town. In the proposal, which has so far been spurned by the businesses, the Authority would meet part of the material costs, while labour would be the responsibility of the Portland firms.

“We offered to pay 50 per cent of the cost of paint to repaint the façade of buildings in the town. We had mixed success: some were actually painted but some people have not bothered. We have not had the kind of response we expected,” Stephens complains.

“We have not given up though,” he adds, “and (we) are putting in a plan for the entire town, trying to get everybody to buy into it. In another few months, the Port Authority president (Noel Hylton) will address that.”

At the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo), the reticence of the Portland business community and the Parish Council has also been noticed.

“We are concerned, but it’s really the private sector and the Parish Council that have to spearhead a change in the township,” says TPDCo’s Mary Helen Reece.

There are some positives where attractions are concerned, Reece says. “The Somerset Falls is being renovated by the private sector and in the next three months it should be outstanding, and Rio Grande Tours is now privatised and doing upgrading work.”

She asserts, however, that infrastructure upgrading in the town is the responsibility of government. “A lot of upgrading in the town is up to the private sector, where the government comes in is with solid waste management, draining, roadways and things like that.”

Meanwhile, the crumbling Folly Great House remains an apt symbol of the story of Portland – a fantastic tourism opportunity going to waste. The massive mansion with its riveting history now lies overgrown and abandoned, a wasting potential reduced to being a haven for errant schoolchildren.

“Persons have been rumoured to be interested in the development, but there is nothing in the planning department of the parish council’s office,” says a parish council source. At the entrance to the Folly Great House, the well-kept Folly Oval sports ground, in contrast, shows the possibility of good community effort.