What will be the future of the cruise industry in Belize City - which is the country's most bustling cruise tourism hub - and one that puts breads on thousands of tables. Mike Feinstein's Strake Bank Project can't get off the ground because the owners of the Fort Street Tourism Village, Royal Caribbean and Diamonds International say they'll sue government from here to "noh-moh, noh-moh."
So, the bottom line is that for the short term, the country will not be getting a cruise port where cruise ships can actually dock. But, there may be some urgency added to the situation because there are reports tonight that Belize may be danger of losing 2.5 million Belize dollars in tourism revenues, all because there is no cruise port for the mega cruise ships to properly dock in Belize.
The activist group, COLA fired off a press release today saying that they've learned that Carnival Cruise Line intends to cancel 14 visits to Belize for the coming "high season". They allege that Carnival's principals have reportedly told the BTB via email that they are, quote, "Unhappy and dissatisfied with their experience in Belize", end quote. COLA alleges that this email continues to say that the tendering process is unfavorable.
Well, no one ta the BTB is saying anything. We've sent questions asking for a confirmation or denial of this position from Carnival - and only the Director of Tourism responded to say she's out of the country.
Yesterday, when Prime Minister Dean Barrow returned to the country from an official business trip, we asked him about it:
Prime Minister Dean Barrow
"I didn't have any conversation with Carnival during which Carnival has said that it requires the building of the port. I spoke to you all on the occasion of my having met with Carnival and told you that Carnival said that it would be nice if there were to be a port, but that for them that's not a be all or end all, that they intend to continue coming to Belize in any case. So if that has changed, I would first want to see the letter in which they indicate such a change before I would comment further."
COLA , quote, "…calls on the government to move forward with the approval for a port facility." End quote.
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