Tour operators feel Carnival is boxing out locals in tourism industry
Tourism numbers seem to be picking up after a slow season. The livelihood of hundreds depends on the industry and everyone is after a slice of the pie. So a contract awarded by Carnival Cruise Line to provide shore excursions has angered local operators who claim it is preferential treatment. The Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations of Belize contends that what should be a local business is being subverted by foreign interests. At the beginning of last month the organization wrote Director of Tourism, Seleni Matus on the matter of a contract that is currently held by Bakabush Tours and its overseas affiliate Chukka Caribbean Adventures based in Jamaica. Among the assertions is that FECTAB believes the Chukka group owns majority shares in Bakabush Tours which is registered to Tom and Yvette Wilson. On the issue of exclusivity where it regards the vending of merchandise onboard Carnival excursions, the letter goes on to say “this practice serves to crowd out the small vendors at the sites such as Altun Ha, Lamanai, Xunantunich, et cetera. The small vendors are considered the backbone of an economy; if that sector of the market diminishes so does the overall economy”. CEO in the Ministry of Tourism, Mike Singh, says the issue seems to be more about the quality of service being provided by Bakabush Tours as opposed to other competing operators.
Mike Singh, CEO, Ministry of Tourism
mike singh
“There seem to be an issue where there is a group of local operators led by an organization called FECTAB which I believe is led by Mr. Tom Greenwood. They’ve had several meeting with us expressing a concern that they feel that there’s one particular operator which operates in Belize under the name Bakabush Tours. That they feel that that operator through their partnership with a Jamaican operator which is called Chukka Tours, that they feel that they seem to be taking a larger pie in the tour market in Belize particularly in the portion where it is contracted directly with Carnival Cruise Line. That’s what the understanding I get from the meetings we’ve had with Mr. Greenwood and with a few other people that seems to be a part of his group. I know I think Mr. David Gegg attended one of the meetings and for some reason I think Mr. Troy Gabb, I don’t know that he’s in the tour business but he’s attended the meetings. They seem to be making a case that there has to be some kind of action taken by government to balance the scales in respect to the volume that’s being taken by Bakabush versus the volume by other operators. Frankly, I don’t believe that is the job of government to interfere with private business in particular with a foreign investor that’s investing with a local. Our records show that Bakabush is fifty-one percent Belizean owned. That is what has been submitted to the Belize Tourist Board. If there is something different than that I have yet to see it. We also feel that there’s certain things we can do to encourage an improvement in the local operators which is what we’ve been working on. The Belize Tourism Board has been pushing very hard for improvement in standards for instance. It is clear to me that the cruise lines certainly demand a higher standard. They demand more safety, in particular one of the more popular tours is the tour at Caves Branch which is the cave tubing tour and there’s a demand for accountability and safety in light of a fatality we had almost two years ago that actually cancelled that tour on the itinerary.”
According to Singh Carnival terminated its contract with the tour operator which offered cave tubing as part of its tour package but that the ministry through NICH made all efforts to upgrade several facilities in light of that fatality.
We need an anti-trust law, one that prohibits agreements to kill competition. Competition lets the consumer decide, and strong businesses thrive while poor ones deservedly fail.
But anti-competition agreements like this one and all of the monopolies granted by the GOB for no good reason benefit the few, at the expense of everyone. When there is no competition, the “robber barons” can set whatever price they want, and the government enforces them.
I suggest some smart person in the National Assembly just copy an anti-trust law from the States, and propose it here. What just Belizean can oppose fair competition?
Again, Belizeans end up holding the short end of the stick.
Mr.Singh give the Belizeans some respect, we are simple, not stupid. Every Government has the right to determine who does business in their country & set or negotiate specific guidelines that both parties have to meet. A piece of paper that says a Belizean is the majority share holder in any company isn’t worth the paper it is written on. Explaining that a Jamaican company is better equipped to meet Carnival’s needs suggests Belizeans are incapable of doing the job. What is the purpose of your tourism curriculum at UB & allowing young Belizeans to participate in internship programs with major companies like Disney, if the people we give our money making industries to, do not hire them?
How long will we ask Belizeans to wait for their share to trickle down?
i thinks this is a hypocritical statement made my singh. how dare he say such things when government has already interfered with one huge private company namely BTL and took it away from its owner. it is the GOB job to atleast look t the situation and recommend something so that the smaller operators get their bread buttered too and shame on bakabush tours to have gotten outside investment for a local business i believe there are many local investors that would have gladly invested something so that the bze dollar stays at home and lastly they need to take out singh from BTB he and his bro and too politically compromised and if they do it would mean that minister heredia will need to give up his porfolio because singh is the man that is doing all the minister’s work. WHAT A SHAME
mike singh is full of sh.. the only thing he can see is the money and gifts he is getting. instead of trying to see how he can help the poor small business belizean owners he is comming up with a a lot of excusess and talk about 51% belizean owned we all now how paper works in belize.. u put what u want on it and mike singh will take it. and if mike singh didnt know, it is the government responsibility to help and protect the belizean people that means the poor too not only the rich with foreign connections. so mike singh do ur job and try to give some to the poor too. u have gotten ur share lets help the small business. belize belongs to alll belizeans not carnival cruise or baka bush. if u cant give them a equal share like it should be, atlease give them something. i personally think ur a piece of sh.. ur not even trying to help the belizeans who are asking u for help instead ur talking about the government has nothing to do with it. who do u think is the government f..l ? the government is made by the belizean people and they are asking for help.
BELIZEANS can be trained to meet higher standards!!!! TEACH ME TO FISH…….. DON’T GIVE ME A FISH….. AND don’t take away my fishing-line either……
What small guys are we talking about? The level of operations rightfully required by Carnival for shore operations can only be supplied by well established operators with adequate resources. Both local operators that could and should have met that criteria had their chances and blew it miserably because of their half step approach to doing business. Instead of wining they should take this time to improve themselves and their operations and be able to demonstrate their improved abilities instead of expecting others to lower their standards to meet theirs.
Step up Belize, improve yourself, when you do you will get the contracts.
This sounds to me like a typical case of the big fish trying to eat up the little fish. I believe that in a situation like this, the government do need to step in and regulate things so that the ordinary Belizean tour guide is not swallowed up by these multinationals, parading under the 51% Belizean ownership umbrella.
I am absolutely certain that there are full blooded Belizeans willing and able to invest the kind of resources, financial and otherwise to present a product and service in the tourism sector to compete with any outside endeavours.
For you young students of the tourism industry; former Prime Minister George Price never placed tourism high on his political agenda as a foreign exchange earner. Among other things, i believe he felt that if not properly managed and regulated, it could very easily make the locals a nation of second class citizens.
Quite frankly I was not even a George Price disciple and definately did not see eye to eye with him on this initiative……… but guess what? I have to give the man props and maximum respect. Besause, even though I did not agree with his philosophy at the time, I can see clearly now his line of reasoning.He obviously must have seen what took place in other countries in the caribbean and did not want that for his fellow Belizeans.
So Mr Singh and others of you in authority, step up to the plate and defend with all your powers the rights of regular Belizeans to partake at the table where this symbolic tour guide pie is being shared and not having to wait for crumbs that fall on the floor. Show for all to see that ….YOU are Belizeans to the BONE!!!!!!!!!!!