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12/20/06 - Cruise Industry Celebrates Change in Policy |
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Rural ports in Newfoundland and Labrador may have even greater appeal to cruise ships thanks to a recent policy change by the Canada Border Services Agency. Cruise Newfoundland and Labrador has been notified that CBSA will now allow all cruise ships, coming from a foreign port, the option to be “fully cleared” at any port in Newfoundland and Labrador subject to availability of CBSA personnel and at cost-recovery. Since 2004, large cruise ships (carrying more than 250 passengers and crew) calling on more than one port in the province were required to pay for customs services at each subsequent port-of-call.
Stelman Flynn, Cruise Newfoundland and Labrador’s Chair, said the policy change increases this destination’s appeal in a very competitive world market: “Since the CBSA original policy was introduced in 2004, the number of port calls have declined because the added costs to cruise lines for customs services in Newfoundland and Labrador were making us less competitive.”
“The Cruse Association enlisted assistance from marketing partners, provincial government officials, Federal MPs, Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador, Senator Bill Rompkey and any one else who could help influence the decision makers in Ottawa. After more than two years, we now see positive results on one of three recommendations,” Flynn said.
Cruise Newfoundland and Labrador hosted an Exploration Cruise Forum in October. “Officials from the Canada Border Services Agency attended and heard first-hand from cruise lines and from provincial ports that their policy was having a negative impact on the cruise industry.” As a
result, the Cruise Association was invited to join CBSA’s Cruise Ship Long Range Planning Committee. That committee met in Ottawa in early December. Board members, Dennis O’Keefe (City of St. John’s), Charlotte Jewczyk (NL Department of Tourism) and Cruise NL Executive Director, Yvonne Power, took the opportunity to press the case for changes to the existing policy.
Two outstanding issues remain, according to Flynn: “Cruise Newfoundland and Labrador has recommended that a third Cruise Ship Operations port be designated in Labrador. Currently the province has only two CSO ports, St. John’s and Corner Brook. When you consider the north/south geography of this province, both CSOs are located to the south, putting thousands of kilometers of coastline at a disadvantage.” The third recommendation to CBSA is that the agency reviews its cost recovery formula. Flynn said that the CBSA should reduce or eliminate the cost-recovery charges in order to stimulate rather than impede development in the cruise industry.
While the number of port visits has declined since 2004, Newfoundland and Labrador has recorded a consistent increase in the total number of passengers and crew thanks to an increase in large ship visits such as the Queen Mary 2 and the Star Princess. The preliminary 2007 cruise schedule already shows a projected 15% increase over 2006. Adventure/Expedition Cruise lines who attended Cruise Newfoundland and Labrador’s forum in October have either added new itineraries or expanded their existing programs for 2007.
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