7 News Belize

FECTAB Raises Hell On Harvest Caye
posted (November 24, 2016)
Norwegian Cruise Line's Harvest Caye Cruise Port has been in full operation since last week and both the Norwegian Dawn and the Norwegian Getaway have made calls there.

And while Norwegian is counting its money and already recouping its investment, small Belize City Tour Operators aren't one bit happy. They aren't welcome anywhere near Harvest Caye - which Fectab today called Alcatraz, the famous US Prison that was built on the island of the same name:.

Yohny Rosado, cavetubing.com
"They are no longer coming to Belize. They are going to "alcatraz island." It's an island for tourist and for Belizeans it's an "alcatraz island," you cannot go there. If you go there you will come out in a body bag."

David Almendarez, Cave Tubing R Us
"Never in Belize me David Almendarez, a red-blooded man, have ever been denied access to anywhere in my country until Harvest Caye come there. If you want to go to Harvest Caye, go to the US Embassy and apply for a VISA, like my friend Yohny said. Apply for you VISA, go to Houston and get on a boat and that's the only way you will see Harvest Caye. You invest million, billions - whatever dollars you invest and you have absolutely no respect to invite the people that live in the country to see what you've built, because it's alcatraz. It's designed to keep us out."

Tom Greenwood, FECTAB
"When I saw my minister of tourism hobnobbing with people on that island and enjoying the beauty and whatever else there is that he thinks about it, I just thought my God, the media isn't allowed there, native Belizeans are not allowed there, but the minister no doubt is perfectly comfortable with it."

Yohny Rosado, cavetubing.com
"I have this very picture on the news that we don't have a first lady, but we called her the first lady, Miss Simpliss Barrow, I take off my hat to you, you went there and cut a ribbon where the cruise ship stakeholders cannot do business. Where the media cannot enter. How can I go at a party and my son will be left outside?"

David Almendarez, Cave Tubing R Us
"Nothing that goes down to Harvest Caye is design for us to pick up. They have totally cut out the local tour operator. The only way you could get money from Harvest Caye is if you become a slave and go work for them big tour operators."

Tom Greenwood, FECTAB
"Before we are put on a bix in the ground, FECTAB is going to try to put a dent in that amour of come to Belize and do as you please. This has to stop. We can't continue electing officials who will turn around and give us the "bukkut"."

And the pain FECTAB is feeling is in their bank accounts. That's because they say they have Norwegian guests that booked with them, and then ended up at Harvest Caye, out of their reach, and far from their intended tours:...

David Almendarez, Cave Tubing R Us
"We have people that have been booking on those same ships that they say were not coming to Belize down, not going down south have been booking with us for years and they don't even have the courtesy to tell the people the logistics of where their alcatraz is at. They give them the impression they can come to Belize and still do Altun Ha. They give them the impression they can come to Belize and still do cave tubing. They give them the impression of Belize and they are seeing the real Belize, when in reality they are seeing a water down version of tours that they can exploit to benefit the money for them while hurting the small man."

Yohny Rosado, cavetubing.com
"You know what hurt us that we got bookings. Yesterday, that we got bookings today for the ship that's going to Harvest Caye and we have the number right here the media could call - 521-2510. Very professionals calling us "are you from cavetubing.com?" yes. "Oh you have some guests' right here at Harvest Caye." "As you know you guys cannot come here and we cannot go there." Bogus."

"How does the people book a ship that's coming to Belize ended up in Harvest Caye? By lying"

David Almendarez, Cave Tubing R Us
"Our resolution is: we want fair and open access to Havest Caye. We want when our customers' book with us, they have access to get to us. Let them out of alcatraz. Because we are getting bookings from you all and we are getting booking from people that's coming from you ship who wants our services, who doesn't like your services and we if we can't find a way to get our business out of it, we will have a problem NCL. We have trouble in the tourism industry right now. This is big trouble. This is not small trouble, because if we can't get our guests out of Harvest Caye who were booking with us for years and years and alcatraz thinks they will come here and make money - we will have trouble. And it will not be David Almendarez trouble, it will be 40 plus operators who are getting bookings."

And the fact is that they want to get these Norwegian bookings because it is well known that Norwegian guests have more money to spend than those travelling on Carnival Cruises. And since the Carnival Cruise tours are more or less dominated by Chukka, FECTAB claims that Norwegian ships which were far fewer, accounted for 60 to 75% of their income. We assume that means on those days when Norwegian ships would come to the city. But, they aren't coming anymore - so far for this cruise season, they're all going south to Harvest Caye, which isn't what all the officials said would happen. The FECTAB leaders say their were lied to and they want government to make it right:...

David Almendarez, Cave Tubing R Us
"I want to see the agreement that you sing with them, that you showed the other day, that you say no ship from here will go down there and if ships are going down there, I want to know why and who change it and how. Because we were lying when we said that was happening and I want you fixed it."

Yohny Rosado, cavetubing.com
"Why can't the government sue Harvest Caye for lying to this country? They had the paper works. They checked the record before they went to the media - FECTAB was lying. The ships that are going to Harvest Caye they are new ships."

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