Devon Evans, Gleaner Writer
JAMAICA'S EFFORTS at minimising tourist harassment on the island have received a favourable rating from one of the world's major cruise lines, Royal Caribbean International.
Associate Vice President of the Royal Caribbean, Michael Ronan, said that complaints from his clients have fallen and that the company was satisfied with the efforts that have been made to minimise harassment.
"We were getting a higher than acceptable level of negative response. We met with the Government and the private sector and clearly outlined what our concerns were, showed them our passenger comments and worked together on addressing how to eliminate those complaints," he told The Sunday Gleaner.
STILL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Mr. Ronan said, however, that although he was happy to report that the levels of complaints are down, there was still room for improvement. "It is something that we have to just continue to work on going forward to bring them down to the minimum and increase the positive comments about their experience."
He reminded the local tourism sector of the importance of renewing the product being offered by the destination, to keep pace with the improvements being made by the cruise lines, so that together they can work as partners to improve the satisfaction levels of visitors.
Mr. Ronan, who was in the island to witness the inaugural visit of RCI's newest voyager-class cruise ship Mariner of the Seas to the Ocho Rios Port on Wednesday said the visit was a further indication of his company's commitment to Jamaica. He added, "We've been coming to Jamaica since the mid-1970s and as our fleet has grown, Jamaica has continued to form a part of our planning. That is as a result of the support from the governmental sector, the private sector in making sure that as we grow, in terms of the size of our ships, the facilities and the products are improved to meet the needs of our guests."
Mr. Ronan added that people in the resort towns needed to be more accommodating to cruise visitors who are not part of organised tours but who just want to walk around and see Ocho Rios or Montego Bay on their own.
"We need to look more at what they are doing, how they are doing it and the services they are receiving. Is there more that we can do to inform them of what is available and to provide the service they are looking for?"
Mr. Ronan said for the future, Royal Caribbean International will be launching another new cruise ship next year April and a much larger vessel in the year 2006.
In the meantime, he said the company was slowing down its growth rate but would include Jamaica in its development plans.
