BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – YET another protest was held this morning (Mar. 12) before the Arrival Hall at Port Zante as members of the St. Kitts Taxi Association objected to what they believe to be preferential treatment for one of the island’s tour operators.
Passengers disembarking from the Carnival Victory cruise liner this morning were greeted by a contingent of taxi drivers protesting the presence of a table operated by Calypso Tours.
According to Calypso Tours Manager Ashley Allers, his business had permission from the Tourism Authority to set up shop in front of the Arrival Hall and offer cruise passengers a unique ‘Tastes and Views of St. Kitts Tour’.
The tour purportedly entails shuttling passengers to various destinations away from the normal tours offered by taxi drivers, where they are then allowed to try locally made delicacies such as sugar cakes, guava cheese and tamarind drink. At the conclusion of the tour, the guests are then served the national dish at the Sweet Lime Restaurant.
The protesting taxi operators, however, stated that Calypso Tours was being allowed to sell both the unique tour and the standard island tours that all operators sell through the established dispatching system.
“What we are saying is that it can’t be fair that you put a few persons up front here to have the advantage and we are not sure we would get a job back there. That is why we had a small demonstration, to show that we are against it,” President of the St. Kitts Taxi Association Calvin Leader told SKNVibes.
Leader further stated that the taxi operators were not informed by the Tourism Authority that Calypso Tours would be allowed to sell tours in front of the Arrival Hall and pointed out that their signage had pricing for standard island tours.
“These operators are not doing anything different to the taxi drivers and they are lying to the Tourism Authority. It is very dangerous to do that and they are causing a problem,” said tour operator Michael Bridgewater, Manager of Big Banana Tours.
Allers, however, said he did not feel his sign was causing a problem and the correct channels for him to operate in front of the Arrival Hall had been followed.
“It’s not about the sign. The sign is the least. I’m saying that what we have to offer is different. It is unique. We’re not into a game of conflict and some people have tried to make it political. I don’t have time for that,” he stated.
When asked why he had chosen to display a sign that featured the usual array of tours instead of specific signage for his unique tour, Allers said the quick nature of his approval to move had not allowed him to create something specifically for the ‘Tastes and Views of St. Kitts Tour’.
“We received the letter yesterday telling us to have our signage and so on. So, in order to promote what we are doing, this is one of our signs. For the whole season, we could not have made any arrangement in terms of advertising materials specific to Port Zante because we’re not clear as to where we’re going to be. In fact, this location is temporary.
“So, because of the late notice yesterday we were unable to prepare any proper advertising materials. We just pulled what we had—got some shirts, some tables and so on. It was a last minute thing for us to organize ourselves and we don’t want any conflict,” Allers said.
The sign in question was eventually covered by Allers with a map of St. Kitts after Chief Executive Officer for the Tourism Authority Rosita Jeffers arrived on scene and had a brief discussion with him.
While speaking to the media, Jeffers said that the sign had been an “irregularity” and the situation had been rectified accordingly.
She explained that the Tourism Authority had indeed approved Calypso Tours’ request to offer a unique venture at the location in front of the Arrival Hall, but only after extensive consultation and assessment of the tour had been carried out to make sure it was indeed different.
The taxi operators, she said, were informed that vendors with unique tours would be allowed to operate in front of the Arrival Hall, though they may not have known Calypso Tours would begin their operations today.
“We have had several meetings with not only taxi drivers but with everyone…and they know about this new dispatching system. What I am being told is that they did not know that the unique tour vendors would be located there.”
She added that consultations would continue and she always has an “open door” for the Taxi Association or any other stakeholder.
“The system was just basically completed recently and we have just certified these people. So, we will be monitoring it very closely. We have had our inspectors trained to basically inspect and make sure [the tour operators] adhere to what they have documented.
“We will be very strict in regards to that,” Jeffers said.
Clashes between taxi and tour operators have been ongoing at Port Zante, but have escalated in recent years as the number of operators has increased along with the growth of the tourism industry.
