• Minister to ‘explore’ alternative call with Crystal

• Destination ‘antithesis’ of mass market tourism

• Brand could suffer ‘significant negative impact’

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Harbour Island’s tourism industry “has made a compelling case” for why it should not become a cruise destination, a Cabinet minister has admitted.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business he will now “convey that message” to Crystal Cruises and “explore the possibilities” of it switching to an alternative destination on its weekly seven-night Bahamas cruises that are scheduled to begin on July 3.

He acknowledged that Harbour Island has established a destination brand that is the “antithesis” of mass market cruise tourism, focusing on high-end visitors seeking a quiet getaway in boutique resorts and vacation rentals, and conceded there were valid concerns this could be “significantly negatively impacted” by Crystal Cruises plans.

Pledging to “engineer a good outcome for all sides”, Mr D’Aguilar told this newspaper: “The hotel owners and operators have expressed their view that Harbour Island really is not a preferred destination for cruise ship passengers, and they have made a very strong and compelling case as to why.

“In many respects it relates to branding. They have branded their destination as the antithesis for cruising, and instead as a destination that caters to high-end, low density travellers looking for that unique and boutique experience. They feel that by introducing a cruise component on to the island that will significantly negatively impact their branding.

“They make a compelling case. We’re obviously going to go back to the cruise company to at least convey that message and explore the possibilities of using another destination. No decision has been made yet. The Ministry of Tourism will convey that messaging on to Crystal Cruises. They are the ones intending to stop there.”

It has not been explained why it was decided to mix mass market cruise tourism with Harbour Island’s niche, high-end market position catering to upscale visitors seeking a more secluded vacation. Mr D’Aguilar, hinting that Crystal Cruises chose the destination, added that the Ministry of Tourism “thought it might garner some interest because it is the slower part of the year”.

Crystal Cruise plans to begin 16 weekly seven-night round-trip voyages around The Bahamas from July 3, stopping in Bimini, Harbour Island, San Salvador, Exuma and Long Island. On Friday it announced it had received record bookings within the first 24 hours of opening this itinerary to guests.

It said 4,000 guests “reserved staterooms or suites on at least one of the seven-night voyages that cruise from Nassau or Bimini round-trip, booking more than 25 percent of the 16 voyages’ combined availability”.

“Almost 200 guests reserved back-to-back voyages, with some planning to spend 42 days on board the company’s flagship. The luxury line realised a 2,024 percent increase in online bookings and received reservations from the biggest number of distinct travel agencies in Crystal’s 30-year history,” the cruise line added, as it highlighted the post-COVID-19 pent-up demand.

Some 80 percent of the Crystal Serenity’s butler-serviced penthouses – the largest suites — were said to have already been reserved for The Bahamas sailings. “We are thrilled by the wonderful response to these new sailings,” said Jack Anderson, Crystal’s interim president and chief executive.

“It’s clear that travellers have been eagerly looking forward to exploring again, and are as excited to see Crystal Serenity return to sailing as we are. We are incredibly grateful to our loyal Crystal guests and our valued travel partners for their support as we begin to emerge from what has been an unprecedented year for everyone.

“I want to thank our employees around the world whose passionate dedication and professionalism in navigating the last year has allowed us to resume cruising this summer. We are looking forward to welcoming our wonderful officers and crew back on board where they are eager to reconnect with our guests.”

“Every destination has a different view,” Mr D’Aguilar added. “Some are delighted that it’s happening. Crystal Cruises is not only bringing the product of home porting to The Bahamas, but wants to keep the entire cruise in The Bahamas. They wanted to tap into other destinations in the archipelago, and we were very excited about that.

“A number of other destinations have expressed delight they’re coming there and want to craft an itinerary for when they came on the island but the hotel owners and operators on Harbour Island were definitely against it.”

Mr D’Aguilar said a one-off stop at Harbour Island in 2017 by a cruise ship on a round-the-world voyage had previously exposed opposition to this form of tourism, and he added: “We’re trying to engineer an outcome that is good for everyone. We want everyone to be happy, and for there not to be any concerns.

“The Harbour Island hotel operators have done reasonably well during COVID-19, primarily because they are low density, high-end boutique destination that wealthy travellers sought out as they attempt to vacation in an area of the world where density and COVID-19 cases are low.

“The push back has been clear that it’s [cruise tourism] definitely something that would negatively impact their brand and may have negative long-term consequences as well.”

Tribune Business reported last week how Harbour Island resort operators yesterday warned the government it will hurt “the goose that laid the golden egg” if they try to make the island a cruise tourism destination.

Tom Sherman, owner and partner in the Coral Sands resort, said making Harbour Island a weekly port of call for Crystal Cruise on its 16 seven-night voyages between July and October threatened to undermine the very essence of the island’s tourism model.

Besides an infrastructure that was unable to cope with the up to 900 passengers aboard the Crystal Serenity, Mr Sherman said the absence of mass market cruise tourism was one of the very reasons that had enabled Harbour Island to build up its high-end client base of boating visitors, hotel guests vacation renters and property owners in the first place.