The new Grand Bahama Cruise Port should break ground in early 2010 and be completed by late 2011, according information contained in a presentation delivered by the Minister of Tourism (MOT) Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace.
Vanderpool-Wallace and officials from his ministry updated the media at a news conference on Monday at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel on initiatives they are involved with to boost the tourism sector.
When completed, the Williams Town Cruise Port is expected to boost cruise arrivals to that island from 300,000 to one million visitors per year, according to government projections.
Senior Director of Communications at the MOT Nalini Bethel told The Freeport News last week that plans for the port have been approved by Cabinet, and now the finer legal nuances are being worked out.
Earlier this month Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham publicly made known the government's intention to acquire 55 acres of property in the Williams Town area.
The prime minister said that the acquisition will take several months and land owners will have the opportunity to prove their ownership and take any necessary action needed in the courts if they disagree with the government's assessment of the property's value. Ingraham said the government would abide by the decision of the courts.
Cruise arrivals to The Bahamas have boomed in recent years as air arrivals have fallen. In 2009 up to July, cruise arrivals to The Bahamas are up 13.8 percent. In New Providence, cruise arrivals are up 19.9 percent over this period as compared to the same period last year. Cruise arrivals to Grand Bahama and the Family Islands are up 14.8 and 5.7 percent respectively over the same period.
In 2008, it is estimated that 92 percent of cruise passengers came ashore in Nassau and spent $140.5 million, according to figures provided by Vanderpool-Wallace. This amounted to an average spend rate per person of $100, with $5.1 million going to taxi and ground transportation and $8.5 million going to the Straw Market and local crafts.
The Bahamas is a dominant player in the regional cruise business. According to Tourism data, 70 percent of cruise passengers coming to The Bahamas are on Bahamas only cruises – the other 30 percent are on combined Caribbean cruises.
"The cruise is the low cost high quality competitor for a vacation in The Bahamas," Vanderpool-Wallace said.
