Falmouth, England, to emulate Falmouth, Jamaica

Falmouth in Cornwall, England and Falmouth in Jamaica will have more than a name in common if plans to develop cruise tourism at both ports succeed. The Port Authority of Jamaica, with its partner, cruise line Royal Caribbean International, has already redeveloped and extended its facilities to accommodate the world's largest cruise ships.

Falmouth Cornwall is hoping to do the same, and after a meeting at the Seatrade Cruise Convention in Miami in March, William Tatham, vice-president of cruise shipping and marine operations for the Port Authority of Jamaica, was invited to visit Falmouth by Mike Reynolds, A&P port operations director.

Tatham recently visited Falmouth and met with Reynolds, Falmouth Business Improvement District (BID) manager Richard Wilcox and Town Manager Richard Gates. Reynolds said, "We aspire to emulate the developments in Falmouth, Jamaica, so Falmouth Cornwall can benefit from the opportunities cruise tourism can bring. This visit is a great opportunity to compare our development plans and to discuss future collaboration for the benefit of both ports."

Great potential

Wilcox said: "There's great potential to undertake joint initiatives that celebrate the many historical, maritime and business links between the two destinations. Falmouth BID has done a lot of national promotional work and this could be a chance to explore exciting international opportunities as well."

Gates said: "As this year marks the 350th anniversary of the granting of the royal charter for Falmouth, this is the perfect time to be building links with Falmouth, Jamaica, and other Falmouths around the world. "The cultural and historical ties are strong; for example Falmouth, Jamaica, is in the parish of Trelawny, which in turn is in the county of Cornwall."

Tatham, who was given a tour of Falmouth Docks and the town, said: "I leave Falmouth, Cornwall, very inspired. After meeting Richard Wilcox, Richard Gates and Mike Reynolds, I'm looking forward to building connections. There's great potential to build an exciting partnership between the two destinations."