Antigua :Half of cruise passengers arriving in St John’s do not bother leaving the ship – meaning the country is losing out on much needed tourist revenue.
That’s according to one industry insider who said we do not benefit as a destination to the fullest extent from the potentially lucrative business.
General Manager of Redcliffe Quay Cameron Fraser said, “If we have 100,000 passengers coming into the harbour, we are not seeing as many as we, perhaps, deserve. As a result we are not selling as many tours or taxi drivers taking as many journeys or retailers making as many sales.”
Fraser outlined several ways that the country’s main port could improve its visitor arrival numbers.
“We have got to look at the diversity of retail being offered, the price point of the goods being offered, and finally, the built environment is critical,” he said.
The Cruise Destination Fitness Test, prepared by Global Destinations Development for St John’s Development Corporation (SJDC), stated that the country needed to “dramatically improve the current visitor experience to raise the percentage of guests debarking the current (also very large) ships from the abysmal 40 to 60 per cent reported today to a more normal 95 per cent.”
SJDC chairman Sylvester Browne recently said that the reason for the poor visitor experience is the “harassment” received by tourists when they step off the ship.
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