BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - MINISTRY OF TOURISM Hon. Lindsay Grant has taken a fim stand in his effort to better the local tourism product for cruise passengers. In so doing, his Ministry is about to make several changes at the arrival area on Port Zante.
On Monday (Nov. 7), the Minister took members of the media on a walk-through of Port Zante to indicate where the changes are to be implemented.
Grant explained that it is a Ministry of Tourism’s project in collaboration with the Tourism Association, adding that the new measures would be implemented to facilitate a smooth flow of passengers from cruise vessels in order to minimize congestion and bottlenecks between those who are pre-booked and those who are not.
Currently, when cruise passengers disembark various vessels at Port Zante, they have two options - pre-booked tours and that of which passengers will be seeking taxi operators to take them on tours.
However, Minister Grant declared that there are lots of solicitations of tourists occurring on Port Zante, even those who are pre-booked.
“It is the aim always to ensure that the pre-booked on the western side and the taxi operators on the eastern side are separated. If they are not separated we are going to have congestion and challenges when the passengers come off,” Grant explained.
However, the Ministry is taking a hard line to separate the two so that they would not be any more solicitations, especially of the pre-booked tourists.
According to the Minister, the decision was taken after discussions between the Tourism Ministry and the Tourism Authority.
Additionally, the Ministry had held meetings with the Presidents of the Taxi Associations in order to get their feedback on the possible relocation of the taxi and tour operators.
Grant indicated that those meetings went well and they are expected to meet with the operators shortly to get their response on the proposed changes.
“Our remit is to ensure that people get the benefit of every single dollar that they can derive from the cruise passengers coming off, that the entire country benefits from tourism,” the Minister noted.
He also declared that the taxi and tour operators would be relocated to the front of Port Zante where it would be easier for them when the second pier comes on stream.
“...which means the areas which houses the pre-booked now, becomes dysfunctional and no more because of the construction. And therefore we need a house for not only the pre-booked but to then relay them to the taxi operators.”
Following the relocation process, the Minister stated that persons would be hired as guides to indicate where the operators can be found, thus assuring that no business would be lost.
Minister Grant is optimistic that construction on the second pier would begin early in the first quarter of the new year.
