Placencia’s New Municipal Pier Now Open to Public
Six Past BTIA Presidents Voice Concerns Over Harvest Caye Cruise Port Six past presidents of the Belize Tourism Industry association have written an open letter to Prime Minister Dean Barrow urging him to reconsider Government’s support of a cruise port on Harvest Caye. The letter, which comes on the heels of the current BTIA board’s vocal objection to the project, makes a strong case for a coherent policy on cruise tourism which follows the National Sustainable Tourism Master Plan. That plan, created following exhaustive research by independent consultants and the Belize Tourism Board, calls for the enhancement of cruise tourism in Belize City and the focused development of overnight eco-cultural tourism in the South. Citing the quarter century of hard work that has made Belize one of the world’s top ecotourism destinations, the past presidents express their bewilderment at how such an important decision could be made with absolutely no input from the industry itself. Calling Belize a “one-of-a-kind jewel that is becoming increasingly rare and valuable” the six leaders question the wisdom of trading that unique asset for a type of mass cruise tourism that is “becoming more common and mundane.”
Crowds wait for boats to dock at the 15th Annual Placencia Yamaha Saltwater Fishing Tournament for fish weighin time. The Placencia Municipal Pier quickly became the main attraction during local September celebrations. Please see PLACENCIA MUNICIPAL PIER on page 7.
(MUZAMANZ E PHOTOGRAPHY)
The open letter is signed by Paul Hunt, Steve Maestre, Rosella Zabaneh, Lucy Fleming, Jim Scott and Steve Schulte. The full text can be viewed at www.southernbelizecruise.org. ▪
Will New Cruise Port in Belize City Derail Harvest Caye Project? The resurrection of an ambitious project for a new cruise port in Belize City could have a large impact on plans by Norwegian Cruise Line to create a similar port at Harvest Caye, just three miles south of Placencia Point. The proposal, developed by Belize City businessman Mike Feinstein, includes a port with four berths at Stake Bank, an island 3.5 miles east of the old capital. That port would then connect to the mainland via a causeway that would first touch at North Drowned Caye, where Feinstein plans to develop a hotel and residential complex. The Stake Bank project, like the one at Harvest Caye, has received approval in principle from Cabinet and—again like Harvest Caye — is awaiting environmental clearance. Feinstein has estimated that between the cruise port and North Drowned Caye development, not only would the existing cruise related jobs be saved but several thousand new jobs would be created. So how does Stake Bank affect Harvest Caye? According to Feinstein, his project is viable only if cruise traffic remains focused around the northern part of the country. “I cannot Please see STAKE BANK on page 7.
Artist rendering of Stake Bank.