Belize delegation meets with cruise lines
At the end of last week, Tourism Minister Godfrey Smith led a twelve member delegation to Miami for a meeting with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association. That body, a trade organisation representing fourteen cruise lines operating between the U.S. and Caribbean, was anxious to see where Belize, one of the region’s fastest growing cruise destinations, was headed. Stanley Longsworth, managing director of Caribbean Shipping Agencies, and port agent for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines, was part of that delegation. Today he spoke about the need to manage growth in the industry to ensure a high quality product.
Stanley Longsworth, Caribbean Shipping Agencies Ltd.
?The primary purpose was to allow the Minister of Tourism, Honourable Godfrey Smith, who is also Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, to meet with the executives of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association. It was the first opportunity for him since taking over the Ministry of Tourism, to explain Belize?s policy with regards to cruise tourism. We wanted to find out exactly where cruise tourism is going in the region, how it will impact on Belize, and in particular what we can do to sustain the phenomenal growth we have seen from cruise tourism over the last five years.?
For their part, the members of the F.C.C.A. give Belize high marks as an adventure destination, but according to Longsworth, are concerned about the level of customer service.
Stanley Longsworth
?They are very interested in what destinations and countries are doing to improve the quality of their service. As you are aware, cruise tourism is a service oriented business and the F.C.C.A.?s primary purpose is to ensure the best destinations for their passengers where they feel safe, welcome, and where they would want to return for a permanent vacation.?
?There is a feeling out there by the cruise lines that we need to sensitise our stakeholders, to explain to them that our visitors coming ashore should feel that they are in a safe environment; one that would allow them to relax, would want to enjoy what the destination has to offer with the ultimate goal being that they return for a longer visit. I think that the relevant government agencies should look into this issue. They should keep on training. The key word is training. You can?t train people enough and I think we should train from the executive level down to the smallest entrepreneur.?
?Anybody that comes in direct contact with a visitor should be trained as to how that visitor should be handled, the approach that is made by the stakeholder. Sure we all want to advertise and market our services, but it must be done in a professional manner.?
An F.C.C.A. delegation will be visiting Belize at the end of this month for further discussions.
