The Ritz Carlton Yacht Evrima made its inaugural docking at the Bridgetown Port, this morning.
Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Ian Gooding-Edghill, in welcoming the ship to the island, pointed out that Barbados is the first Caribbean island to welcome the yacht, which would be homeporting in Barbados for the 2022/2023 winter season.
Minister Gooding-Edghill highlighted one of the benefits of having vessels homeporting in Barbados. “Homeporting is one of our favourite words in the cruise industry, as it offers visitors who fly in the opportunity to spend a night or two in Barbados, before and after boarding the cruise.”
This, he noted, was “great news” for the island as it allowed visitors to explore the island prior to, or following their cruise holiday and the possibility of increased revenue spending.
The new Tourism Minister indicated that in a recent trip to Miami, he met with partners in the cruise industry and the discussions held were “promising as many of the cruise partners further strengthened their commitment to Barbados, and are working with us to explore opportunities for growth of both the winter and summer business”.
Minister Gooding-Edghill gave the assurance that as the country seeks to maximise airlift capacity, it would continue to work assiduously to increase homeporting opportunities.
He stressed this was paramount as the Ministry works towards the continued development of a sustainable tourism model.
Speaking about the 2022/2023 winter cruise season, the Minister disclosed that Barbados anticipates a “strong” season where 390 vessel calls are scheduled with a passenger total of 700,000. These figures are said to be trending in the direction of those comparable to that of 2019.
In addition, he noted that the industry was optimistic that due to the pent-up demand for travel, these numbers should increase during the season.
The vessel, which is the first in the Ritz Carlton Yacht Collection docked in Barbados following her seven-day transatlantic crossing from Europe and would be homeporting on the island, during the winter season, with 20 rotations offering itineraries throughout the Southern Caribbean. PR/GIS