Chin Lee: 70 cruise ships confirmed for 2004

SEVENTY cruise ships have already confirmed that they will be making Trinidad and Tobago a regular port-of-call in 2004, while 45 cruise ships made TT their destination of choice this year. This was disclosed by Tourism Minister Howard Chin Lee, who also revealed that Government will start a $10 million upgrading of port facilities in Scarborough in January to accommodate larger cruise ships. Speaking with Newsday in Port-of-Spain yesterday, alongside the cruise ship MS Braemar, the Minister said: “Certainly we see the cruise ship industry as a very vital and important area in the tourism sector. Not just in Trinidad but in Tobago.

Right now there is a project in the sum of $10 million to revamp the docks at the Scarborough Terminal to facilitate larger cruise ships, I think it is in excess of 300 metres. Some people have argued that the cruise ship industry does not contribute much. I disagree with that.  I think it can be an additive to the hotel and the other areas of tourism in the sense that the amount of arrivals that we get will contribute to the Gross Domestic Product as well as contribute to the advertisement of your island.” The Scarborough Terminal upgrade is projected to be completed within nine months. Chin Lee said the worldwide cruise ship industry has been on the increase in recent years, with 15 vessels being built annually and the Caribbean contributes “50 percent of the world tourism market. “Therefore, they are calling and looking for places to use as a port-of-call. That is why you see the industry is continuing to grow and TT is now becoming more and more known throughout the world,” the Minister stated.

Chin Lee added that one of the reasons why so many cruise ships have come to TT and why more will be coming is because this country is a secure destination. “I remember at one time there was a travel advisory, but ever since that has been corrected the same ships that pulled out at that time are continuing,” he said. The Minister said the British P and O Cruise Lines (one of the lines which pulled out when the advisory was issued) has returned and will be making “the largest calls (in TT) in their history (in 2004).” Chin Lee was National Security Minister when that advisory was issued. Talks between the TT and British Governments assured the cruise lines that TT was a safe destination and convinced them to return. The American State Department, British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have since designated TT as “a safe global destination.”