Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett says

Jamaica will see an increase in cruise ship arrivals, and by 2030 the country

should see a projected three million visitors in a single year.

Bartlett, speaking at the RJRGLEANER

Hospitality Jamaica Awards last Friday, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in

St. James, said that while cruise shipping is currently experiencing a lull,

the situation will be changing dramatically in the coming years, where the

Falmouth port, in Trelawny, could see some 2,000 visitors. Jamaica welcomed

just over 1.2 million cruise visitors in 2018.

“Cruise is moving in a particular

direction. For now, we are experiencing a lull because of some itinerary

rearrangements. However, the development of new ports in the area, and in

particular…the Cayman Port, is going to see the development of the most lucrative

cruise route in the entire Caribbean,” he said.

Minister Bartlett explained that the

Western Caribbean itinerary, which features Falmouth, George Town (Cayman) and

Labadee (Haiti), has distinguished itself as the best and most exciting

combination of islands and a must-see for cruise shippers.

He added that currently, the Royal

Caribbean Oasis-class vessels, including the Symphony of the Seas, the biggest

cruise ship in the world, are not going to Cayman, but all that could change

very soon.

“The big Royal Caribbean vessels are wary

of the tendering process, as Cayman doesn’t currently have a port. The minute

that situation is fixed, then we conceivably could become the number-one cruise

destination in the region,” Bartlett added.

“If all of this materialises, we are

expecting that by 2023 there will be two million cruise visitors in Falmouth

alone. And remember that in 2020, Falmouth will be hosting some of the world’s

biggest cruise vessels, including the Symphony of the Seas, which will be

making its maiden voyage next May,” he noted.

Both Royal Caribbean Cruises and Carnival

Corporation, the two biggest cruise companies on the planet, are on record in

expressing an interest in increasing their fleet of vessels on the Western

Caribbean route.

Director of port business development for

Royal Caribbean, Miguel Reyna, said his company is looking to move more of the

larger Oasis-class ships to its Western Caribbean routes. He said the smaller

Freedom-class ships would be phased out and replaced with the larger vessels,

carrying more than 5,000 passengers.

David Candib of Carnival Corporation gave a

similar message. He said the cruise line is behind its competitors in the shift

to larger vessels but is investing heavily in catching up.

Meanwhile, Bartlett said that while

Falmouth, Ocho Rios and Montego Bay will continue to get the lion’s share of

the market, the other cruise areas, such as Port Antonio, Kingston and now Port

Royal, which is slated to come on stream, will also be getting their “piece of

the action”.