The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Senior Carnival Cruise Lines executives have voiced optimism that their 20-year search for a private port location in Grand Bahama is nearing an end with their latest $100m project.

Giora Israel, Carnival Corporation’s senior vice-president for port and destination development, said: “We wanted to have a port that is close to the population centres for this large island, and we have looked at the southern shore of Freeport for many years, myself going back at least 20 year.

“We ultimately looked at one location, then another, and finally we’ve zoomed in on a location which is commonly known as Sharp Rock, or everything east of Sharp Rock, to develop this project. This area of Sharp Rock will also allow for the berthing of large ships and is very conducive for the maritime condition because some dredging will have to be done to bring the pier as close as possible to the land.

“This project is designed to be a uniquely Bahamian project. It will likely have the largest, most spectacular destination that will be not only in The Bahamas but hopefully also in the Caribbean.”

Carnival’s Grand Bahama port will double the passengers it brings to the island to one million within three years of completion, economic forecasters have predicted, while boosting annual visitor spend by $68m.

The assessment by Tourism Economics, which was attached to the project’s newly-released Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), predicted that a yearly average of 1,688 total jobs will be created once the “Grand Port” begins operations following a three-year construction build-out.

The EIA itself, which like the economic impact analysis was completed pre-COVID, argued that allowing Carnival’s development to proceed “will let the world know that Grand Bahama is back in a significant way as a tourist destination in the Caribbean region” following the ravages inflicted by Hurricane Dorian in September 2019.

Painting a picture to suggest that the project is much-needed to revive a tourism industry and economy that were both flagging prior to the storm and the pandemic, the EIA added: “The current port in Grand Bahama is consistently among the lowest ranking ports in terms of guest satisfaction.

“Currently, five cruise lines visit the island. Three of these – Carnival Cruise Lines, Costa Cruises, and P & O UK – are Carnival Corporation brands. Over 80 percent of all guests arriving to Freeport on cruises will come from Carnival Corporation brands.” That is until, presumably, Royal Caribbean and ITM Group’s Grand Lucayan acquisition is completed.

Given that the modelling by Tourism Economics, a division of Oxford Economics, dates from pre-Dorian and COVID-19, there is a likelihood that some indicators and numbers will have altered although the broad outline of Carnival’s ambitions appears not to have altered. Carnival did not respond to Tribune Business’ request for comment, relayed through its local contacts, before press time last night.

The company, and the cruise industry as a whole, were dealt a devastating financial blow by their pandemic-enforced 15-month shutdown, and the timelines for Grand Port’s development have been pushed back by at least two years due to a combination of COVID-19 and the wait for the necessary permits and approvals.

Tourism Economics said Carnival’s new port would increase Grand Bahama calls by the cruise line’s ships by 26 percent annually to more than 250, as opposed to the 200 arrivals in 2019 pre-COVID. The new facilities will also be able to berth larger ships, and accommodate “two Super-Post Panamax ships at a time with up 6,000 passengers each”.

“In 2019, Carnival brand ships brought nearly 500,000 passengers to Grand Bahama, and plans include boosting this volume to one million by 2025, a 100 percent increase over current levels,” the analysis said.

“Along with more volume of cruise passengers comes on-shore visitor spending, which supports Bahamian jobs and income. By 2025, new incremental onshore spending is expected to amount to more than $68m over the baseline forecast.” Given the COVID-related and other delays, the ambition to bring one million passengers to Grand Bahama is likely to have been pushed back from 2025 to at least 2027-2028.

Mr Israel, meanwhile, told the public consultation on the development’s EIA: “The project will include one pier that will be able to accommodate two ships” simultaneously.

When visitors disembark, Carnival will have excursions and tour operators lined up “both by sea and by land, and there will be a transportation hub there as well to allow for transportation via rental car or by taxi to take people wherever they want to go”.

Mr Israel added: “There will also be a lot of retail. We will not be operating the SME operation, and it will be operated by Bahamian operators. We are trying to make the place so it fits into The Bahamas.”

Marie McKenzie, Carnival’s vice-president of global ports, said the cruise line is still committed to engaging as many Grand Bahama stakeholders as possible over the project.

She added: “Unfortunately there was the hurricane (Dorian, and we continue to live through the challenges of COVID. So things did slow down a bit, but I can tell you as a company we’re hopeful that we will get the approvals needed from government but recognise that there’s a lot of work to do to get there.”