Hurricane Wilma may have already cost the Belizean economy close to one million dollars - money which should have come from cruise tourism but didn't. Four out of 5 scheduled cruise ships didn't make it to Belize this week because of Wilma. That is nearly 9,000 passengers and with each spending an average of US$50 each on the ground, the storm's toll is at least half a million dollars. The loss affects a cross section of the society from tour guides to craft sellers to hair braiders who make a living on Fort Street. Here's more.
Keith Swift Reporting,
Its usually bustling with tourists…..and those aggressive vendors trying to sell to tourists. But today the Tourist Village on Fort Street was abandoned. There were no tourists and no vendors. The only store we found open was Ivy's Gift Shop at the mouth of North Front Street and Gabourel Lane. Its namesake Ivy Pelayo was expecting this week to be the start of the high season, Wilma had something else in mind.
Ivy Pelayo, Tourist Village Vendor
"We said well this week was going to be the week. After the slow season this was like the start of the season so we said well this week would have been a good week. We were all anticipating that we would have had good business this week but…"
Keith Swift,
Wilma came.
Ivy Pelayo,
"Wilma came yes but God has a reason for everything so I am not really sweating it, we will take it one day at a time."
Keith Swift,
The BTB says it could be before another week before ships come again.
Ivy Pelayo,
[Shouting.] "What? No man."
The answer is actually yes. Lloyd Enriquez is the Registrar of Hotels at the Tourism Board. He says four ships have already been turned back this week and it could be another week before the next ship docks in Belize.
Lloyd Enriquez, Registrar of Hotels
"This week there were five scheduled cruise calls to Belize and of those five only one has been able to make it in, that was the Carnival Miracle on Tuesday. All other vessels that were scheduled to call on Belize have cancelled due to the obvious threat of Hurricane Wilma."
Keith Swift,
And this is like the worse time because it is like the start of the season.
Lloyd Enriquez,
"Indeed the cruise season typically begins around the middle of October and peaks around January or February. So during that time, in the next few weeks we are expecting to get two or four cruise calls per day, at least three days per week. But with this threat of Hurricane Wilma that has put a damper on the official start of the high season.
We definitely expect a recovery. The problem will be with the path that Hurricane Wilma is taking. As you know its moving very slowly and even the experts are having problems predicting its path. If it does run into the Gulf of Mexico we could look to another week or so before the ships will start coming down to the Western Caribbean again. So we're looking at about basically two weeks in cancelled calls."
One more week of what already seems one too much for those who earn a living on Fort Street.
Six cruise ships are scheduled to dock in Belize next week. Despite the BTB's gloom outlook, cruise agents we spoke to were confident those ships will make their scheduled stop in Belize. The BTB says that due to a succession of storms this year in the Atlantic, cruise tourists arrival will be down for this year by 5%.
7NEWS produced for broadcast by News Director Jules Vasquez
Edited and Prepared for the internet by Keith Swift
