Book launch attracts overwhelming industry support

The Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) last Thursday hosted a spirited affair aimed at revealing the newly published book written by the institute's executive director, Dr Fritz Pinnock, titled Caribbean Cruise Tourism - Power Relations Among Stakeholders: The Future of Cruise Tourism in the Caribbean.

Held at the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), the event had in attendance luminaries in the industries of tourism, shipping and education. Among them were keynote speaker, Dr Omar Davies, minister of transport, works and housing; Roger Hinds, president of the SAJ; Grantley Stephenson, president of the Caribbean Shipping Association; Harry Maragh, cruise shipping specialist; Professor Errol Morrison, president of the University of Technology and Audrey Sewell, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Transport, who served as master of ceremonies for the event.

Arising from Dr Pinnock's thesis, the book was published by Combined Academic Publishers in Germany. It looks in-depth on the cruise shipping industry and exposes its strengths and weaknesses in a constructive way to encourage positive changes in the areas needed.

During his overview of the publication, Professor Anthony Clayton, the author's doctoral supervisor, highlighted the two main issues discussed in the book. The first is the anomaly that the Caribbean accounts for over fifty percent of the world's market share of cruise ship passenger deployment, but generates less than five percent of the industry's revenue, while imposing significant financial and environmental costs on a number of Caribbean nations.

The second issue is that cruise lines are being absorbed in the process of industry consolidation in that over 80 per cent of the global industry market share is concentrated in a handful of cruise companies. This has created an acute imbalance of power, as these companies are effectively able to dictate terms to the small Caribbean nations on the cruise itinerary.

This situation raises serious concerns about the sustainability of the industry; it is likely that the extraordinarily inequitable distribution of power, costs, and benefits will eventually alienate the host nations and stakeholders. Such findings, according to Minister Davies are hard truths for the cruise industry and affected countries to accept but that the book should not be regarded as an empty criticism of the industry by its stakeholders. He urged them to use this knowledge to activate positive and meaningful changes in the areas found most wanting in the sector.

Prescribed text

The book will be used as a prescribed text at CMI, which is part of the institute's thrust to become more research oriented and encourage a culture of investigative learning. All proceeds of the sale of the books will go towards the establishment of the Caribbean Maritime Institute Research Fund. The book will be donated to members of parliament, major (parish branch and university) libraries, as well as partners of the CMI.

The book has received many positive reviews on Amazon, but perhaps the most comprehensive of these states that, "this book provides an accurate description of Caribbean cruise tourism, and illustrates the roles played by stakeholders. It is well researched and well written".

The book was written to illuminate the nuances of the cruise shipping industries within the Caribbean region, giving each country examined a representation in the wider research. The findings unearthed are expected to be the driving forces behind developing remedies for areas of shortcomings, and bring focus to the areas of greatest productivity and triumph. It is hoped that a launch of this nature will effect such actions.