The Minister of Tourism for Antigua and Barbuda, the Honorable Asot A. Michael, met with a number of cruise lines in South Florida last week to discuss the future of his country’s cruise sector. Following the meetings, the Minister said he is “very encouraged” about the future of cruising in Antigua and Barbuda.
The visit, which was from January 25-27, 2017, included meetings with Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, MSC Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn and Princess Cruises. The Minister and his team also had discussions with and received feedback from the Operations Committee of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA).
Though the Antiguan cruise-sector masterplan has already made significant implementation progress, the Minister and his team still discussed feedback and suggestions for improvement with cruise industry leaders. Members of the meetings include Adam Goldstein, Rick Sasso, Robin Lindsay, Carlos Torres Navarro and Michelle Paige. Topics discussed included the possibility of creating a new beach-focused, outer-island style of cruise destination on Antigua’s sister island of Barbuda. The new masterplan is to be designed specifically for Barbuda to deliver an authentic experience for an Eastern Caribbean cruise itinerary and to better position Barbuda on the regional cruise map.
Minister Michael was accompanied at the meetings by his cruise-sector advisor, Ricky Skerritt, tourism authority board member Nathan Dundas, Antigua and Barbuda Port Authority CEO Darwin Telemaque and representatives of the BEA-Meridian design and construction team, who are responsible for designing and constructing the upcoming masterplan.
Minister Michael and the Antigua and Barbuda government commenced the development of ambitious cruise facilities back in 2016. Since then, an approximate $50 million has been spent on the harbor, lengthening and strengthening the Heritage Pier to allow for the berthing of larger ships, up to a Quantum-class size. In December, the arrival of Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas marked the start of a new growth phase for the Antiguan cruise sector. The masterplan calls for further dredging of the approach channel and turning area, the creation of a fifth berth and land reclamation to create improvements to pedestrian and vehicle flows, plus town aesthetics, tour operations and shopping.
In a comment about his meetings, Minister Michael said “The cruise executives and itinerary planners were impressed with our vision for improving how Antigua will be welcoming their ships and passengers, and their feedback has helped us to better understand their specific needs for achieving sustainable growth. I am confident that we have developed the right masterplan, and it is now up to our Government to identify additional financing to complete what we started last year when we successfully implemented critically needed marine improvements at St. John’s Harbour and the Heritage Pier.”