Marine Park "Nature Fee" increases to $40 effective January 1, 2019

[wwguy]

So, are we saying that those who utilize the resource the most will have to pay the most?
Is $40.00 too much to ask to access the area for a year? Isn't this really a minor expense? Many of us pay more than this for a night on the town.

I don't agree that divers utilize the resource the most. Or if so it's barely more than the cruisers. Without hard data it's a theoretical argument at best, but just for fun let's refer to these 2016 tourism statistics for reference.

In 2016 136,000 total tourists visited Bonaire by air. 10% of those were daytrippers from Aruba and Curacao etc. Of the remaining 122,000 overnight visitors, 39% of them stayed between 4 and 9 nights, with the vast majority (15%) staying 7 nights. So for the sake of simple math let's say that 7 nights is typical, which I don't think is a stretch of the truth after looking at the Pareto chart. So that's about 47,500 tourists. Again being generous, let's assume 80% of them are scuba-divers requiring the $25 tag and that all of them are diving every day. (The other 20% being non-diving kiteboarders, windsurfers, beachcombers, elderly, other non-diving tourists, and part or full time island residents.)

So now we're at roughly 38,000 divers visiting Bonaire annually for an average of 7 days. We also need to factor that almost all divers dive one less day than their total trip duration, so 7-night divers typically dive for 6 days, which is in line with most dive and car rental packages offered.

A $25 dollar tag divided by 6 days is $4.17/day.
38,000 divers x 6 days = 228,000 diver-days at $4.17 per diver-day.

According to this report by the same organization, Bonaire received 230,000 cruise passengers in 2015, 216,000 cruise passengers in 2016, and a whopping 407,000 cruise passengers in 2017. I have no idea how many engaged in scuba diving or other watersports, but I do know that NONE of them paid marine park fees to offset the impact of their visit, or their ship's impact to the local marine environment.

 

[wwguy]

You gotta admit: if they plan to rake up sales by charging fewer people more money, it's no wonder they have to ask the Dutch to come in and balance the budget. Maybe the Netherlands could send them the tourism commission too.

I think The Hague is growing financially weary of funding Bonaire since the change in government in 2010. From what I've read over the past couple of years I think they'd like it just fine if the island could generate enough revenue to cover its own costs.

 

[dmaziuk]

I was referring to this specifically:
Letter in the CUR Chronicle regarding the Dutch and local governments

 

[scrane]

Man, you guys are breaking my heart.

 

[dmaziuk]

I don't mind larger fee, up to a point, but at 20,000 four-star hotels I wonder if they should lay down the crack pipe and instead go open a few green-cross coffee shops on the island. Assuming Dutch drug laws apply. I bet those'd be a hit with the cruizers.

 

[wwguy]

I was referring to this specifically:
Letter in the CUR Chronicle regarding the Dutch and local governments

Yeah, they're getting tired of babysitting the local government too.

 

[scubadada]

I just paid $95 for a marine park fee for the Caymans on the Aggressor V for a one week visit, worth every penny. I spend 4 weeks a year in Bonaire, $10 a week for me, about 12.5 cents per dive, again, will be worth every cent. The Bonaire thread is starting to remind me of the Cozumel thread, where posters debate every penny spent. I'd be perfectly happy if less of you come to Bonaire, all the less crowded for the rest of us. $15 increase in Marine Park fee, $20 for nitrox, a drop in the scuba bucket for some of the best diving in the Caribbean

 

[morecowbells]

Sadly, the cruising population are not the ones suffering the brunt of crime on the island. While I do not have statistics available, it seems that the property theft(cars and lodging rentals) and break in's tend to be an issue which affects the diving population more so than the stop over crowd. It would be nice to see some of the funds being allocated to enhance security at some of these parking spots in the marine park.....

 

[dlofting]

Sadly its another reason to pass on Bon. There are a lot of beautiful places you can dive without paying for a park pass. It was never the shelling out of $100 (family 4) just to get in a dive that bothered me it was requiring an orientation every year even when you have been to the island many times, have hundreds of dives worth of experience and there is nothing new to inform you during the orientation. Just another obstacle in the land of dive freedom.

I know I paid park fees in Cozumel, Roatan, Socorro and Cabo Pulmo......not sure about Belize. They were just included in the dive price. The only place I'm pretty sure I didn't pay is Anilao and Sabang in the Philippines, but I don't think we were diving in parks. We are paying a fee to dive Apo Reef in the Philippines.

You can always come to BC to dive. It's cold and you'll need a drysuit but we won't charge you to dive. We may charge you to park your car and will definitely ding you 12% on most things you buy, but no Marine park fees.

 

[tarponchik]

I just paid $95 for a marine park fee for the Caymans on the Aggressor V for a one week visit, worth every penny. I spend 4 weeks a year in Bonaire, $10 a week for me, about 12.5 cents per dive, again, will be worth every cent. The Bonaire thread is starting to remind me of the Cozumel thread, where posters debate every penny spent. I'd be perfectly happy if less of you come to Bonaire, all the less crowded for the rest of us. $15 increase in Marine Park fee, $20 for nitrox, a drop in the scuba bucket for some of the best diving in the Caribbean

You got my blessing! We already decided we are not going back there again after our last trip in 2014. Fewer turtles and morays, groupers and large parrotfish species wiped out, corals in bad shape, often covered with red slimy algae, etc. There is not much left there to see. If they want to turn themselves into another Aruba (and Curacao is already heading this way), this is their choice, but we do not want to watch or God forbid, pay for the transition.