Mexico: no to cruise ships

[Hondu]

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (4 Sep 2004) -- A revolt is growing in the Caribbean over increasingly massive cruise ships disgorging thousands of passengers who swamp beach towns, buy perhaps a soda and a few trinkets, and re-embark a few hours later.

Mexico's government is considering charging the country's first per-passenger cruise tax, while beach towns that no longer want to serve as a mere backdrop for the $15 billion cruise industry are beginning to say no to the big ships.

http://www.cdnn.info/industry/i040904/i040904.html

[bombero]

Good artical Hondu.. Thanks for sharing... Bombero

[jhannah]

Heavenly days! It's not enough that thousands of their citizens come into the U.S. each year undocumented and soak up jobs and health care, thus saving their country the trouble. Now they want to turn around and charge "outsiders" from coming to visit. I say let them! I doubt it will take too long for them to figure out that the "few benefits" that cruise ship passengers leave behind are really much greater than they believe.

[OCruisers]

Bombero ... Thanks for posting this!

It's not just Mexico! Many locals in Charleston, SC, are strongly against having cruise ships stop there for, basically, the same reason!

Certainly, there are two sides to this for ALL port cities.

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :confused:

[Krazy Kruizers]

So if we show sale receipts from items we buy in Mexico while on a cruise, we won't get charged the extra tax???

Just kidding - we always buy (and not cheap) items for our neighbors and ourselves when we are in Mexico.

[iluvcruzin]

Good article. Personally, they could either charge additional port fees so I'd never notice or cancel Beliez, Costa Maya and Enscenada. Keep Cozumel :)

If the people of those towns had a voice, I imagine they wouldn't be too happy if tourism left their area. Some places depend on it for their way of life. Controling the number of passengers on a given day is done in Bermuda so it's nothing new.

[Ziggy7]

Heavenly days! It's not enough that thousands of their citizens come into the U.S. each year undocumented and soak up jobs and health care, thus saving their country the trouble. Now they want to turn around and charge "outsiders" from coming to visit. I say let them! I doubt it will take too long for them to figure out that the "few benefits" that cruise ship passengers leave behind are really much greater than they believe.We agree! On all our ports we saw people spending like crazy, and alot of the stuff in cozumel was a bit pricey compared to other ports. We are not cold hearted by if they charge more, then we have spent our last days there :)

[sail7seas]

Good grief.....

[peaches from georgia]

The building of the megaships and the overbuilding of cruiseships in general has had lots of unforseen consequences, some good some bad. Yes, needing to fill the ships has meant discounting of cruise fares, but it has also brought cost cutting measures on the ships and charging for some amenities which none of us like and also overcrowding of ports, which we and now the inhabitants of the islands are both complaining about.

Bermuda had great foresight- smaller ships and fewer of them will keep it a very desirable destination. :)

[bombero]

You know, it wouldn't be so bad if these places were Paradise, but they're not. I don't know that we hurt or trample anything, but we sure do add a great deal to their economy.. Yes, it's true that most of the nicer stores, you know the ones, with the people outside trying to strong-arm you into their stores, are infact owned or leased by the cruise lines.. The same goes for the ones at the piers, and especially Costa Maya, which is entirely owned by the Corporation.. Fortunately, we always do most all our shopping in the Mom & Pop stores.. Unfortunately, those stores are fast disappearing and being replaced with Company stores.. This is why they are not getting enough revenue from the cruise passengers and we are becoming a burden instead of a revenue asset... Bombero

[jhannah]

Yes, it's true that most of the nicer stores, you know the ones, with the people outside trying to strong-arm you into their stores, are infact owned or leased by the cruise lines.. The same goes for the ones at the piers, and especially Costa Maya, which is entirely owned by the Corporation.Interesting. May I ask where you learned this information?

[DFD1]

Perhaps it's a case where the Mexican government sees an opportunity to take further advantage of tourists in the country by making an attempt to intimidate the cruise industry into paying this additional tax.....taxing simply because the opportunity presents itself.

As for who owns the shops around the cruise ports....I have no first hand knowledge, but I would be surprised if the usual relationship went much beyond some sort of commission or fee being paid by the shop keepers for being on the "recommended list".

There is a wealth of good information on this forum, but some things have to be taken with a grain of salt until better evidence emerges....as it sometimes does.

[QueenieGirl]

Jhannah, I find your remark regarding people from Mexico coming over and taking jobs and getting free health care offensive. The jobs they take are
the ones that people living in the USA will not do and as far as health care is concerned, the majority of the workers don't have any. Would you be willing to pick fruit in 100 degree weather for a couple of years to pay for your cruise?

[Jacqueline]

I think the answer lies in BALANCE. 10 mega ships at one time in Cozumel is horrendous, for example. But it is up to these TOWNS to legislate appropriate passenger loads that they can handle and that will benefit them without oo many negative impacts, environmental or otherwise.
Forbes just had a big article on cruising in Alaska. Basically the same thing happened in Haines. The ships pulled pulled outand now they are in an economic depression with half the teachers being let go. They are now begging for the ships to return.
I think it also makes the experience better for the cruiser when the little town is not overrun with thousands of people ! There are something like 50 ports in the Carribean- the lines have to get a little smarter !
Personally I cant wait for Fidel to pass onto his ultimate reward so that we can visit Cuba instead of sailing around it ! Just imagine.

[Globaliser]

I don't know that we hurt or trample anything, but we sure do add a great deal to their economy.Do we? I don't know what studies have been made into Caribbean cruise ports, but I know that someone did one about London. The conclusion was that the extra costs borne by businesses in London as a result of the congestion and pressure created by tourists may outweigh the economic benefit brought by them. Whichever way the balance actually lies, it's quite a close call.

So the answer may not be as clear-cut as one might think, particularly when a lot of the spending by cruise ship passengers goes straight back into the cruise lines (think of the whopping commission they earn on shore excursions, or from the shops that pay them) or into the pockets of offshore or multi-national companies that own the shops.

[Jacqueline]

Globalizer, I have been thinking about his post today during my many hours driving in the car. I think that esp in the Carribean you are right. Unfortunately, from what I have gathered talking to local vendors on tours, the governments are even more liable to be corrupt than others. My suspicion is that the piers (think of Costa Maya/Yucatan Peninsula and Punta Langusta/Cozumel ) are built to be these "diamond interntional" Disneylands with large chain type vendors. The benefits down go beyond the main street. In Cozumel in the neighborhod where i stayed ($60 a night for an apartment) it was not unusual to see three members of a family on one regular bicycle !.
I do think that there are benefits to tourism as it is the largest industry in many of the places that the ships visit (and many of theses are economicall depressed) - indeed on the Tahitian Princess the people in Raitea got stuck holding the bag when they built a facility for Renaissance who was going to use it for a 2 day port of call,. Then they went bankrupt. Now it is a one day port of of call for Princess. The people I spoke to really wanted Princess there for TWO days. But remember this is one ship with 600 people every 10 days ! That doesnt change the nature of the destination but does give a nice boost to the locals. We spent a day on a tour with a local guide- dropped money at the pearl farm and then had a great picnic in the WATER. The guys in the band love the gig and it carries them for a good part of the month.
I keep coming back to the fact that if the governments structured this better it could be a good benefit to the people and not detract from the destination. But that may be hoping too much.

[Tatka]

When this August (I think on 25th) we were on Zuiderdam in Grand Cayman there were Navigator ots, Caribbean Princess and Carnival Conquest... It was overcrowded. Even our guide said that two of these ships would be enough! And for her more tourists are supposed to be more buiseness...But when in every touristy place there are 400+ people at the same time..it's too much.

[bombero]

globalizer and jhanna.. I got this information by reading the Cruise News articals on several websites over the last couple weeks.. This is not a new release, it's been out there a couple weeks now and several different people have written articals about it... Bombero

[chefajax]

Hi to All......
AS Mexican government wishes to extort money from the cruiselines. It is up to the cruiselines to respond. Fair is fair, pay to play, at a reasonable rate. However, did you notice that cruiseships use to go to St. Croix, but do not now? I heard that crime and police lack of enforcement doomed that spot, but I need to confirm this.
I live near Tijuana and I WILL NOT go there as the corrupt cops and politics extort money from the tourists, in the least and rape and torture for the worst (like one case where the wife was raped and the husband beaten and forced to take money out of the ATM by the POLICE!!!!!!!)
This is not to say that there are not GOOD people in Mexico, towns like Ensenada, PV, La Paz, Cozamel are welcoming tourists and are ensuring their safety in most cases, IMHO.
When I travel, I try to buy from the stores only,as they are the ones that pay taxes for the improvements. Store owners in PV strongly wish that this message got out to the tourist community. This would be one way that could help improve their country so that 10% of their nation's population wouldn't have to leave to find work to take care of their family....Dennis