Tour Guide says Placencia Not Benefiting from Cruise Ship Tourism

At a recent press conference FECTAB President, Yhony Rosado raised concerns on two issues he says that Belize City tour guides would feel the negative effects of. According to Rosado, tour guides in the Old Capital will be negatively impacted by the introduction of a foreign tour company and the redirection of Norwegian Cruise Line’s ships to Harvest Caye, a few miles away from the Placencia peninsula. Tour guides on the peninsula say that Norwegian Cruise Line has brought only false hope. Walter Garbutt says that the local tour guides in the south have not been benefiting. He explains that tourists are not given the chance to book tours with them.

Walter Garbutt

Walter Garbutt, Tour Guide, Placencia

“The cruise ship is mega. It has more people than the towns, in the areas when that comes on shore, bigger than the three communities put together almost, excluding Mango Creek. The impacts will be high. Being native as I said, we have been around a long time and we have seen it from the first start. The impacts are huge and would be greater. Things happen in our area, governments come in, they initiate it and they start it up and then the people are left on their own. Right now in Placencia, we are left here to fight for ourselves with the cruise ship. They started doing their own tours from the island. We are left with the scraping of what is left. Should we really allow that? Ss people we need to stand up and be stronger. I feel like we getting hit with a big stick and I don’t know why.”

Hipolito Novelo

“How do you be more competitive?”

Walter Garbutt

“It is not even about being competitive. It is about if you are a native of an area and there is development in the area, you must be included. There is no second thought to that. We have nowhere to run. We k now that cruise ship will destroy this place in twenty five year. We have nowhere to run. They are going to run. Where will we run?”

Reporter

“How often does the cruise ship come to the island?”

Walter Garbutt

“Now they have been coming four, five times a week because it is their busy season. What does Placencia benefit? I would say zero or one percent benefit. Something needs to be done. We asked meeting with the minister. We were promised meetings earlier in January. They did not even respond in January. This was before Christmas that they promised us meetings. I personally, I could live without it but because I am a native and it is my area, I would hate to move to accommodate then.”

Hipolito Novelo

“The small little businesses in Placencia can’t live without. These tourists bring in foreign exchange. They bring their dollars to spend here. It is a tourism destination.”

Walter Garbutt

“We are talking cruise ship. We don’t hate them because we don’t hate tourists. But we hate when we are not a part of it and it is changing out place so fast and it is changing so much.  I mean change it that it can’t go back to what is was, ever.”