Caymans at a crossroads on mega cruise ships?

[tkaelin]

I found the following story in the cayman compass interesting and informative. Are ‘Cruisezilla’ ships crucial for the Cayman Islands?

We all have our opinions but hopefully at the end of the day it is up to the island to decide. I was left somewhat hopeful that a decision will be made that the island might be better off not catering to the mega cruise ships

 

[ROUS]

This is the hot topic these days. I've heard both sides of this issue and both proponents and opponents make thoughtful points. The island is in a tough position. One way or the other, they will minimally have to build a new cargo terminal at some point.

 

[Alucard]

OK this may be cynical, but the island doesn't decide. It's the politicians that do.

Caymanians are the only ones that allow them to vote, but after that the big money concerns start weighing in and "influencing" the politicians. So "the will of the people" often doesn't make it to reality. Add to that all the people that live on the island and have zero say - expats and other PR folk.

There was a referendum a while back and the island voted not to go ahead with expanding the cruise facilities. What happens? They wait a little and then do another referendum. Presumably they will keep doing one until they get the answer they want....

The money-maker for the government on this is the fee that they charge every cruise line for however many passengers are on the ship, whether or not they com ashore. Cruise visitors don't tend to spend anywhere near as much money as overnight visitors that will support many local businesses (which go out for a meal when you have unlimited food on board, for example)?

I really hope that the government gets the firm message once again that they are better off if they do not expand the cruise market.

 

[tkaelin]

Do residents get to vote in referendums such as the one discussed in the story?

 

[Alucard]

Do residents get to vote in referendums such as the one discussed in the story?

As I understand it, not they don't - only citizens.

 

[Umuntu]

Having spent a considerable amount of time on a Swedish island that was inundated by visits from Cruisezilla ships I believe that the passengers visiting the islands contribute nothing to the local economy and are big users of local scarce natural resources during the summer months.

The passengers pour out of the ships, crowding the streets.

They take photos, but spend no money locally.

They don’t visit local restaurants and enjoy the local cuisine because food is free on board ship.

They don’t even buy postcards anymore, because today people share their travel experiences on social media and messaging apps.

And importantly, most islands suffer fresh water shortages during summer months when rainfall is low. The cruisezilla refill their enormous tanks and the passengers visiting the islands make liberal use of the public facilities creating long queues which make it impossible for locals to “go” when needed.

Locals who object to these visits feel disenfranchised.

It’s one thing for the cruisezilla to dump that number of people on a large city like New York or London, where they make no impact on the total population … quite another for them to overwhelm a small local population.