South coast home-porting could boost tourism sector

THE EDITOR, Sir: THE CRUISE shipping/tourism industry in Jamaica is poised for further growth with the addition of more vessels home-porting in Montego Bay.

Home-porting is when a ship uses a port/marine terminal as its home regardless of its port of registry. This facilitates passengers to begin/terminate a cruise in the home port. Ground transportation and tours will be impacted positively not only for MoBay but also for Kingston.

Passengers flying in to board vessels may opt to arrive in Kingston for a stopover, then travel to the Second City and, in so doing, get a cross-sectional view of the island’s topography, effectively killing two birds with one stone.

Jamaicans booking cruise on home-ported ships will also have the advantage of boarding here as opposed to flying to Miami or to another location.

ADD NEW LIFE

Long-term planning is integral for sustainable economic growth. If the planners had thought of home-porting, cruise ships would be home-porting at Falmouth. It is not too late to expand the pier to accommodate home-porting.

Jamaica’s cruise shipping ports are all located on the northern sections of the island. Having a cruise passenger terminal on the southern coast would be a catalyst towards the 2030 vision and would add new life to tourism. Attractions would follow by way of small, medium and large enterprises. This long-term, sustainable initiative will bring economic growth and, ultimately, raise the standard of living for all Jamaicans.

Over to the PAJ for continuing port expansion and business development. Remember that Cuba is strategically positioned next door. CARLOS PIPHER carloslindsay1@yahoo.com Kingston