PUBLIC-PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERSHIP TO ATTRACT AND DEVELOP CRUISE

PUBLIC-PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERSHIP TO ATTRACT AND DEVELOP CRUISE Anthony Benn DESTINATION Manager Security Services, Barbados Port Inc. 1 st Hemispheric Convention on Cruise Tourism and Corporate Social Responsibility, Mar del Plata, Argentina. April 8 -11, 2015

Multi-purpose Facility • ◦ ◦ General Cargo Container Terminal Cruise Terminal Dry Bulk Facility

Aerial view of the Port of Bridgetown

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination As we have heard from several persons so far, cruise tourism continues to grow worldwide, not only the number of passengers, but also the number of vessels, the size of ships under construction and the number of new destinations being introduced.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination The number of passengers grew from 3. 7 million at the turn of the century to 21. 4 million in 2013 and these numbers continue to increase. In the past decade alone, there has been a 77 per cent increase in the demand for cruising from over 12 million passengers. Translated into economic terms, this growth represents a US$117 billion contribution to the global economy and 890, 000 full-time jobs. These are impressive statistics.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination This growth presents several opportunities as well as challenges for new and mature destinations wishing to attract cruise ships. This is especially so given the large investments required for infrastructural development for these destinations such as Barbados.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination This make the stakes very high, with destinations seeking to take a larger share of cruise tourism and cruise lines seeking more destinations to refresh their itineraries and in the case of mature destinations new or improved shore attractions to offer guests.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination The decision to invest in cruise related structures such as cruise terminals and incorporating these facilities into multipurpose waterfront developments is a desirable addition for investors and developers. This is what Barbados is doing at present………

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination As we all know Investment in cruise infrastructure can be very costly. Also the presence of cruise ships may result in the displacementloss of cargo traffic. In the case of Barbados our Port is a multi-purpose port. It can hold up to six cruise ships and they are many days we have to make “no cargo” days in order to accommodate cruise activity.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination We must also be very mindful of the economic activity which is generated by the cruise industry. Many small economies in the Caribbean and elsewhere depend heavily on revenue generated from this business. It is the case that the net worth of some of the cruise lines is more than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of many small economies.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination The dependence of the Caribbean on cruise tourism for future socio-economic development is so considerable as to be a matter of serious concern. The quality of life of our communities largely depends on whether or not Caribbean Tourism is able to compete in this fiercely competitive dynamic global environment and maintain this favourable rating. Yesterday we heard that 35% of cruise ships are deployed in the Caribbean making it the number one region of calls in the industry. We have to strive to maintain this. Thus the need for public-private partnerships.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination At present many countries are tourism- dependent, it is a distinct possiblity that nowhere else in the world does tourism carry so heavy a burden than in the Caribbean region.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination Regional and National Tourism Organizations as well as all other public-private sector players in the industry have an awesome responsibility to deliver creative solutions in order to derive maximum benefits from this industry to finance national development and create employment.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination Cruise tourism already makes a significant contribution to the standard of living many of us presently enjoy and it has the potential to enhance lives in a sustainable way even more. For this to become a reality there is need for substantial public-private sector collaboration.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination Specific area that the Private Sector can be engaged in partnerships are: – Build and manage tourist facilities. – Ensure the preservation and protection of tourist attractions. – Assist the public sector in ensuring environmentally friendly practices.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination • Involve the local communities to ensure that benefits of tourism accrue to them. • Conduct training to ensure service excellence. • Assist the public sector in marketing and product development. • Conduct research to ensure that expectations are being met on all sides. • Help to facilitate safety and security.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination Specific area that the Public Sector can be engaged in partnership are: • Rationalization of taxation on industry. In the case of Barbados we have just passed legislation giving all hotels and other such forms of accommodation duty and tax exemptions on all inputs used by such establishments. And we have seen immediate results with the introduction of the Sandals Brand we expect to build two new five star hotels this year. This is public-private sector partnership at work.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination • Provide enabling environment through legislation and other means to ensure the long term viability of the industry. • Provide funding in proportion to what industry generates to reinvest in the destination. • Ensure that appropriate incentive schemes are provided to the industry.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination We can see that in view of the large investments required in the this sector and the need to maintain very high standards in services, hotels and tourism related products they is the definite need for public-private sector collaboration. This collaboration is vital if we are to maintain market share and continue to develop our product.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination Let us look at the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association model as an example of the type of collaboration to which I refer. One of the stated core values of the FCCA is that it seeks to build cooperative relationships with its partner destinations and to develop productive bilateral public-private sector partnerships.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination To achieve this the FCCA works with governments, ports and private/public sector representatives to maximize cruise passenger, cruise line and cruise line employee spending, as well as enhance the destination experience and the amount of cruise passengers returning as stay-over visitors.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination These are some of the partnerships which the FCCA is involved in: • The FCCA provides technical assistance on port development, improvements to and planned new services. • Research is conducted and provided to destination partners in an effort to create a better understanding of cruise passengers; improve the landside product delivery and maximize cruise tourism’s benefits.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination • FCCA Outreach Program – FCCA training seminars provide destination partners with information regarding cruise passengers—their wants, needs and habits—enabling the destinations’ private public sectors to optimize the impact of cruise tourism.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination In this regard FCCA has four core training programs: • Service Excellence: Training is conducted on the importance of excellent customer service and the economic impact of the cruise industry. A happy guest not only spends more money, but also will return again and again thereby converting cruise passengers into return visitors. In the case of Barbados, our Prime Minister hosts several functions a year at his official residence to honour repeat visitors to the country. We have persons who visited Barbados on fifty occasions.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination • Taxi Pride: This training targets taxi drivers, tour operators and to vendors providing ground transportation and it focuses on five main areas: courtesy, professionalism, marketing, rules and safety.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination In addition, the FCCA will also work with destinations to design outreach programs in areas such as painting schools, hospitals and orphanages; visiting the elderly; and other community oriented projects.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination We in Barbados have and continue to benefit from these programs and I can attest to the fact that they make a tremendous difference. This is a very good example of public-private sector collaboration in the interest of cruise tourism, national and destination development.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination In this environment of international economic uncertainty this type of collaboration is vital to ensure the future viability of destinations, especially mature destinations.

Public-Private Sector Partnership to Attract and Develop Cruise Destination Failure to develop these synergies as it relates to public-private sector collaboration in the cruise industry may place destinations in danger of loosing business. In the case of Barbados, we have recently completely reorganized our National Tourism Authority and formed two new Agencies to place more emphasis on product development and marketing.

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