Unless a solution comes by November 2, 2010, the Rain Forest Aerial Tram (RFAT) of Dominica will begin the new tourist season having to deal with a 30 percent reduction in its overall revenue as a result of the Carnival Victory pull out.
Described as a “big blow” to the company, Administrative Manager of RFAT Nikima Royer is convinced that forward is the only way to go in spite of the misfortune.
In an exclusive interview with Dominica News Online, Royer revealed that the country will lose 160,000 cruise passengers a year as a result of the pull out while RFAT will lose 30 percent of its reservations. When asked to give an estimate of the amount of money that the aerial tram will lose as a result of the cruise line’s absence, Royer sighed and stated, “A lot!”
“What we are trying to do is regroup to figure out exactly how we are going to approach the season, what the plan is gonna be… the way forward . We shall participate in all initiatives that are being put forward by the DDA, DASPA, DHTA, etc. We’re participating in the meetings and discussions because we realize that it is a national concern… it affects Dominica as a whole. So we have to be willing to participate,” Royer told BVI News.
She guaranteed her organisation’s commitment to working with the various tourism stakeholders to finding a solution as opposed to pointing fingers. “We’re not trying to blame anybody, you know why it happened or those kinds of things…”she stated.
Royer, who is also a director of the Dominica Hotel and Tourism Association (DHTA), said that company decisions will be made as soon as there is a collective resolution among stakeholders.
“Once the country decides what direction it’s gonna take we will follow. We will do everything we can to assist the process…All of us are fully committed to seeing the way forward,” she added.
Dominicans, especially tourism stakeholders, were left in a state of uneasiness upon the announcement that the country’s most popular cruise line decided to terminate its services in Dominica, ending a 21-year-old relationship with the country.
The reason for this withdrawal was a high cost of fuel, according to Carnival Victory officials.
The Rainforest Aerial Tram opened in October 2003 offering tram rides to passengers of US$55 for adults and $40 for children; under twelve at US$40. Prices differ for locals.
Carnival Victory comfortably carries a total of 2,758 passengers. It normally makes 50 to 52 calls to Dominica a year for the last 21 years.
@One-set: I hope that was sarcasm…
@Piper:
You are right. When there are no ships in port the tram is idle. They basically cater to the mass tourist market (cruise passengers). So if you are a stayover tourist trying to visit the tram on a day when there are not ships in port you may be out of luck.
Now would be a good time to market the tram to the local market in the off season or any season. I’ve been there once and its an excellent product that more dominicans would enjoy if we were not priced out of the market.
@MadTETE:
lol…the best is yet to come sir.
blessings to you and your family. On love. LOL
@Anonymous:
If we have one ship making 52 calls a year, then 250 ships should make about 7500 calls a year (assuming they come by for 30 weeks in the year and the ships are on average the same size). That represents less than 1% of the total. How is it that 30% of their revenue comes from 1% of the potential customers?
The tram people need to break the figures down for folks like me to understand their plight. As I said earlier, if one customer represents so big a percentage of yoru business and there are more customers around, surely you need to do a better job of tapping into that pool. You become too vulnerable of you place so much dependence on one customer (in that case one ship). Something just does not seem right with the figures. If indeed they are correct in their analysis, the company needs to seriously look at their marketing and sales effort.
one ship is costing the company 30% of its revenue that says to me that the locals have been priced out of the market what percentage of the company revenue does the dominican public represent if your company solely depends on the tourist sector to survive that says something about the mind set of the people running the company because a company operating a bussiness such as an aerial tram should derive most of its revenue form the local public
Sorry to say but French people don’t money like that, we can never develope tourism with our French neighbours. When they travel, they travel in groups for discounts and they want to stay at schools or camp sites. Them people too cheap.
Its not just the tram that is loosing. Its the entire tourism industry, when we have 250 ships calling to our shores and we loose 52 calls from one ship, what do you think would happen?
@One-set:
UWP fan boys and fan girls have nothing better to do. Go do ur job and dig up fictitious stories on skerit and blame everything on him as always.
Something does not sound right with the 30% figure. How is the cancallation of 1 cruise ship resposible for 30% of the revenue when so many other cruises come to our shores? Is the tram idle most days when that ship is not in port?
I understand since that ship comes throughout the year and others do not, it figures heavily in the off-season. Why doesn’t the tram guys look at their business model to attract more of the other business other than cruise tourists during that period?
Why don’t Dominica create more business with the French Ferry and other tour operators? The will get business. Offer excursions to the island from Guadeloupe and Martinique via France .
That’s not a problem. Papa Skerro will block the 30% hole easily…lol…on the next level