#TurksandCaicos, February 5, 2021 – Comments made to the Senate Committee on Transportation in the United States on Thursday point to a cruise industry which is sinking deeper and deeper as the rules for running cruises amidst the coronavirus pandemic continue to anchor the industry.
“I’m not sure we’ll have significant cruise operations until
perhaps next year and even beyond that,” said Michael Rubin, Vice
President of Florida Ports Council.
It has cost ports in
Florida $22 billion dollars and the cruise lines themselves have seen economic
activity dip by $32 billion.
After recording a
successful year in 2019 with 1,064,408 passengers arriving at the Grand Turk
Cruise Center, there appears to be no end in sight to postponements and
cancellations without thorough global administration of the Covid-19 vaccine.
In his report to the
Jamaica Stock Exchange, where the Grand Turk Cruise Center is listed as a
trading company, Herrick Dear, Chairman at Margaretville Caribbean said: “Margaritaville (Turks) Ltd. looks forward to
an even better Fiscal 2019/20. The Board and Management team seek the continued
support of our Shareholders and we pledge to continue to work for the mutual
benefits of all concerned. Thank you for your continuous support.”
The statement was made
in a 2019 Annual Report for the company.
During this most
successful year of operation in Grand Turk, it was reported that earnings
topped $7 million.
“The company also
achieved revenues of US$7.59 million during the year, a direct result of the
increased passenger counts.”
Turks and Caicos
Islands Government earns $2 US for every passenger; it is an automatic loss of
over $2 million dollars to TCIG.
Michael Rubin told the
Transportation Committee: We are
concerned. We’re hopeful that they’ll allow them to operate at least half
capacity here maybe in April, maybe in June. Hopefully, before that timeframe,
because this is really, really troubling.”
He also said the high profile disasters at sea regarding the
virus continue to linger in the minds of regulators and navigating what
different ports will require and desire when it comes time for disembarkation
is challenging.
“Some of the smaller luxury liners … may not be operating
till further than that, until there’s actual vaccines available around the
world. We are concerned. We’re hopeful that they’ll allow them to operate at
least half capacity here maybe in April, maybe in June. Hopefully, before that
timeframe, because this is really, really troubling.”
In the report on Margaritaville, it was said there were 329
cruise ships to the Grand Turk Cruise Center in 2018/19. Carnival Cruise Line brought the lion’s share
of the cruises, 84.2 percent. The economic activity captured in the report also
showed a performance increase by $1.5million.
The prognosis was good, now the industry is faced with what
it calls the onerous requirements of the American Centers for Disease Control.
So far, no one seems enthusiastic.
