When ground was broken in April for the 100 million Belize dollar Carnival Cruise Terminal, it was hailed as the 0most significant tourism investment ever in Belize. But tonight, it looks like there could be trouble in paradise. 7 News has received reliable reports indicating that the carnival group is unhappy with the government of Belize and is threatening to cancel the project and move it, possibly to Honduras. What is the source of the discontent? Well it seems the largest cruise company in the world wants to have its way in Belize and that means operating in a virtually deregulated environment, free to bring in as many visitors as it wants.
But according to our reports, government is insisting on some regulations, namely the imposition of a cap on the number of visitors, to ensure the long-term sustainability of Belize's natural and archaeological resources, which are heavily stressed by the volume of cruise visitors. But carnival isn't having it, and executives made their dissatisfaction known at meetings held last week between company executives and the prime minister. The 50 million us dollar project would be Carnival's largest in any port of call.