Viewer poll question: advantages and disadvantages of cruise tourism
Tonight’s question is: Do you think the benefits of cruise tourism outweigh the disadvantages it brings to the jewel? Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8686 or post your vote on our e-poll at channel5belize.com. You can also send an email with your comments to questions@channel5belize.com.
IF foreigners run it then “dawg eat we suppa”.
The tourists themselves are a huge benefit to the Jewel — our leading source of national income. But the tourists don’t know what is permitted and what is not, and it is unscrupulous local tour guides, ferry operators, taxi drivers, and others who mishandle the tourists or — for pay — take them to violate protected areas that cause the problems. We need a top to bottom restructuring of tourism regulation, with new leadership that is not tainted by connections to some or another interested parties.
Earl Grey, 10 minutes research on the net and you and anyone who wish to educate themselves, will find that the cruise industry is designed (intentionally) to capture every single dollar, if possible from guests on their boats. Do Belizeans not realize that the tendering that is trying to be brought in is more than likely owned by the cruise lines; therefore they will be paying themselves to transport their guests to and from the ship; think it isn’t so? Then you are as stupid as they think you are. @Robert, you don’t seem to understand tourism at all; anyways I won’t try to educate a big man, get your lazy battam up and do your own homework. Damn there are naive a$$ people in this country, no wonder everybody walk all over us.
I hear the new Tenders are owned by the Singhs….. But that will never, ever be made official, of course!
Back in the 70’s when George Cadle did not want to place tourism high on his bugdet as a potential foreign exchange earner, myself and a good many other locals felt that we were being denied the opportunity to showcase the wonders of the jewel and at the same time earning an honest living. His reason being; it will make the people a nation of beggars and second class citizens. I’ll be the first to tell you, I felt that Mr. Price had ulterior motives and I did not buy into that line of reasoning. But lo and behold, three decades later, here we are kissing the cruise ship’s stern, for the crumbs falling off the decks. In this case Mr. George, I have to give you your props. Respect!
Did not know that about Mr. Price. I second that respect shout to the man!
It’s a shame his successors did not share this opinion with him.
Tourism rarely builds a healthy, sustainable economy and culture, it only complements an existing one. The mass-market cruise industry is the bottom feeder in the tourist ranks, so why yoke yourselves in front of that plow? Take a look at the economics of the area immediately around Disney World when compared to non-tourism driven areas of Florida. Take this as the golden opportunity it truly is to educate your neighbors on what your future holds down that path.
Good luck
If one take everything that is been said at face value one will jump to many unfounded conclusions. Every business has its ups and downs and challanges. The banana growers had to fight tooth and nail to get their share of the market, so is the citrus, so is the sugar industry. Does that mean that we should not have venture into any of those business? There was a time when the USA rule the global market with many products such as steel, just to name one industry, not any more. How about ship building and the automobile business? Now the USA auto industry has to fight hard to stay competitive. We know the story of that too well in recent pass under the Obama administration.
If we want to play in the big league we have to pitch as a big league player. The folks that spent billions of dollars on those mega ships to accomodate customers will not allow some ringy dingy business operators to spoil there business, folks. How much do you all have at stake that are !@#$%ing about what you get and what you do not get from the tourist ships? I’ve been in many,.many countries on the globe and saw first hand what tourist revenue does for a country. Look at the state of Quintanaro Mexico what it has become in the last 20 years as as result of their seriousness about the tourist business. If we want to sit back and play the same old tune, then Mr Price was right, but if we are going to keep up in a ever changing world, then we better shape up or ship out. What isen’t growing in dying.