Less cruise ship calls are expected for the upcoming season in Tobago. This, from Tourism Secretary Tashia Burris during a media briefing on Monday. In 2023 there were sixty calls with over one hundred thousand visitors. More in this Elizabeth Williams report.
00:00This cruise ship season is a little bit quieter. We have just about, I think, 40 calls or 41 calls scheduled for this season between Scarborough and Charlottesville.
00:11We have done some upgrades to the Charlottesville jetty. Last season, we had some challenges with boats not being able to dock in Charlottesville because of bad weather and because of the condition of the jetty.
00:23So the Division of Infrastructure, Quarries and Urban Development, under which the jetty falls, they conducted some upgrades during the closed season.
00:33The Tourism Secretary said the first cruise ship will call in Tobago on November 5th.
00:40What we have an estimate, I think it's about 40,000 visitors who should be visiting destination Tobago for the cruise ship season.
00:48The first call that I'm aware of, it should take place on November 5th. November 5th is the first call for the cruise ship season.
00:56And as always, we are planning to have our shoreside welcomes. We are talking to the business community to get on board to ensure that on the days that cruise ships are in Scarborough, that businesses are open.
01:09Ms. Boris explained why there would be a reduced number of calls this season.
01:14So we are looking forward to a very solid cruise season. The reason for the decreased number of cruises is that we get the majority of our cruises in the south of the Caribbean home porting in Puerto Rico.
01:27And right now there's an extensive renovation taking place at their port. So they are doing less cruise traffic over the next two years.
01:36Once that renovation is complete, we should see our numbers increase as a result of new facilities and the expansion of the services being offered at the home port in Puerto Rico.
01:48She said the tourism division is seeking to achieve all-round growth and the training of providers, inclusive of maxi-taxi drivers.
Be the first to comment