Noel Lynch (at mic), Barbados' Minister of Tourism and International Transport, will address the sixth Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference on the topic,'The Impact of Cruise Vacations on Land-based Tourism', in Puerto Rico next week. Here he addresses the 25th annual general meeting of the Caribbean Shipping Association that was held in Barbados in 2005. Seated are (from left) Stephen Bell, general manager of the CSA, and Carlos Urriola, vice-president of the CSA. - contributed photos

Michael Bernard, president of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), will lead a high-powered delegation from Jamaica to the sixth Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference of the Caribbean Shipping Association (CSA) that meets in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, on May 14, 15 and 16.

The conference is being hosted by the Puerto Rico Shipping Association in collaboration with the municipality of Mayaguez.The 18th-century west coast Puerto Rican town will provide the perfect setting for a CSA conference and plans by the Puerto Rico Shipping Association, the Mayaguez Port Commission and the municipality of Mayaguez are well advanced. In the words of CSA President, Fernando Rivera, a Puerto Rican native: "This will be a great conference!"

Mayor of Mayaguez, Jose Guillermo Rodriguez, will give the keynote address at the official opening ceremony of the sixth Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference. He will be introduced by Dennis Bechara, president of the Mayaguez Port Commission.

A highlight of the conference will be an address by Noel Lynch, Barbados' Minister of Tourism and International Transport, on the topic 'The Impact of Cruise Vacation on Land-based Tourism', on the third day of the conference which will be dedicated to the Caribbean cruise industry. Minister Lynch will be one of several important speakers on the third day of the conference, including representatives of major cruise lines and cruise ship organisations in the Caribbean.

Cruise industry debate

Tourism is one of the economic sub-sectors on which Caribbean nations depend for survival. The debate about the effects of the cruise industry on the hotel industry andland-based tourism generally has raged ever since the Caribbean became the cruise capital of the world.

The cruise industry brings millions of tourists to the Caribbean, but passengers stay ashore only for a few hours. Whereas they collectively leave behind millions of dollars each year in spending on goods and services in the many destinations, individually they do not spend as much as hotel guests. Given this fact and the substantial capital investment in hotel plants and facilities around the Caribbean, the debate has continued.

These and other issues relevant to regional shipping and the cruise industry will be addressed over the three days of the sixth annual Caribbean Shipping Executives Conference.