Discord in cruise industry threatens chaos
There were murmurs of discord last week, but predictions are that come Wednesday the situation at the Tourism Village will be chaos, as Belize’s largest cruise tour operator squabbles with its two largest suppliers of transportation. The players tried to sort it out in front of the press this afternoon, to little avail.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
They sat side by side at this afternoon’s press conference, but there is no love lost between these warring factions of the cruise ship industry: the Novelo’s Bus Company, Tour Tran, and Cruise Solutions.
Tom Greenwood, Pres., Belize Cruise Ship Industry Assn.
“This is no longer a matter behind closed doors.”
President of the Belize Cruise Ship Industry Association, Tom Greenwood, set the stage for the discussion by outlining a slew of problems, including insufficient guides accompanying tourists that threaten to disrupt the main cruise season which is just getting ready to start.
Tom Greenwood
“On Wednesday coming up here we have four large cruise ships in harbour. All four are represented by Cruise Solutions, approximately about nine thousand people. And I would like to think that somewhere around the region of at least five or six thousand will come ashore to do something or the other.”
But the problem, Greenwood fears, is that there will not be enough busses to take these visitors to their destinations. Tour Tran, which currently provides buses to tour operators, only has thirty-five air-conditioned busses at its disposal. How the shortfall will be met is not yet known, but the other company that can provide the busses says its hands are tied, thanks to the machinations of the biggest tour operator, Cruise Solutions and its boss, David Gegg.
David Novelo, C.E.O., Novelo’s Bus Company
“Due to the fact that legal proceedings are still pending with Cruise Solutions, Novelo’s cannot legally provide Cruise Solutions with buses, even though we have in excess of a hundred air conditioned busses. There is where the problem lies for the whole cruise ship industry and ultimately Belize. Cruise Solutions requires at least eighty busses to service for ships at a time as will be the case again this week, as it was the case last week that Cruise Solutions was unable to cater for that amount of busses.”
Gegg was absent from this afternoon’s emergency press conference, but his chief of operations Kelvin Ramnarace, told the room full of industry officials and media that Cruise Solutions is willing to work with Novelo’s to bridge the gap.
Kelvin Ramnarace, Operations Manager Tour Tran
“This is what I have been instructed to pass on to you. This is after receipt of Mr. Greenwood’s invitation to this press conference. He says: Dear Mr Greenwood, I do not feel that a press conference is the appropriate forum for resolving the issue, which your letter of November seventeenth, 2003, seeks to address. Meetings between the parties seem more appropriate and I have initiated these. For the record, my company has offered to prepay the Novelo’s for the use of additional busses. And this could amount to thirty-five thousand to fifty thousand dollars per week in incremental cash flows for Novelo’s.”
But even with the monetary offer, Novelo’s is not budging. Chief Executive Officer of the company, David Novelo, says money is not the problem.
David Novelo
“The reality is that our conversation with Cruise Solutions’ David Gegg has been futile. We have met, it’s been a grip lock in terms of himself still not honouring exclusivity, and we would welcome the intervention of the government authorities and the powers that may be because its not just a matter of collecting a prepayment. In terms, it’s a matter of the exclusivity basis and the way the financial aspect where these acquisitions of these equipment came was based upon the consideration of that exclusivity basis. So what is at question here is relatively to say is our company is left with different options.”
Adam McKewan, General Manager, Tour Trans
“Tour trans employees and investors appreciate that Mr. David Gegg of Cruise Solutions confirmed this week that the exclusive contract for motor coach transportation between Cruise Solutions and our company Tour Tran will not be broken for the remaining six years. Tour Tran is one hundred percent dependent on the contract with Cruise Solution. This was in fact the reason and the only reason that we made an investment in Belize.”
McKewan says Cruise Solutions awarded them the contract to transport cruise passengers knowing fully that they only had thirty-five busses at their disposal and that any shortfall is not theirs to fill. Novelo says that as late as Friday afternoon he had meetings with my Gegg to try to resolve the dispute but to no avail and the result was this afternoon’s appearance alongside McKewan to put the issue n the court of public opinion. Ramnarace, without going into specifics, says he is confident that things will be worked out and that no tourist will be stranded on Wednesday.
Patrick Jones
“The people leave here today believing, and certainly I am leaving, believing that your company is two-timing everybody in this. You talk out of one side of your mouth to Mr. Novelo and out of the next side to the other company.”
Kelvin Ramnarace
Well you would probably not have been listening, there are two sides to every story and we have our side. We have our reason why we terminated that contract as well. Both of us are claiming breach of contract and for our own reason and business must go on. And it had proceeded with Tour Tran.”
Patrick Jones
“But if thousands of people are left stranded on Wednesday it’s not just your company that will look bad, it’s all Belize.”
Kelvin Ramnarace
“Well we are making every plan to make sure that does not happen.”
Patrick Jones for News 5.
If the situation sounds confusing, don’t worry, it is. In related news, B.C.I.A. President Tom Greenwood told the press that the tourism village has in fact been sold, and is now owned by a consortium made up of Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and duty free jewellery giant, Diamonds International.
