Tourism officials have introduced new tour arrangements for taxi operators, but this has not gone down well with taxi personnel.
Some of these arrangements include the restriction of access to private tour operators and certain streets in Roseau, along with a new private tour dispatch system.
Another such measure is the increase in the price of site passes from $5 to $10 for cruise passengers who choose private tours.
The taxi operators believe that the new systems will hinder their source of revenue.
Tourism authorities discussed matters with taxi personnel today at a meeting.
Operators had initially walked out on the meeting over what they say was the late arrival of a few officials, without notice.
“If we are professionals, it is disrespectful to have professionals in an area for one hour… we in the cell phone world where you can just make a telephone call and say guys, I am running late. So we think it was disrespectful to us to have us waiting so we walked out. .. So you do things to dialogue with us, not to have us waiting, for an hour and a half and then you show up to a meeting,” president of the Combined Taxi Association Jenner Guiste told media following the walk out.
The tourism administrators arrived shortly and the meeting was convened.
One of the main points on the agenda was the withdrawal of Carnival Victory cruise-line. A major problem cited by officials was congestion in Roseau, hence the need to restrict parking in the city.
Iconcur with this statement and i have had similar experiencewhen i visited Dominica
on cruise ship. I also do not understand why does one have to pay to use the bathroom at Tralfalgar Falls. Some tourist did make sacastic statements concerning that, and as a Dominican it did not feel very good I want this writer to know that i share the entire sentiment
Let us face the reality: those responsible for doing the job properly are failing. SIMPLE AS THAT. The measures required are not rocket science….just common sense.
Please isn’t one ship far to many to pull out instead of cleaning up our act we r worsening it by increasing site passes?????????? and people note that is per site. Trust me Dominica is going down the drain slowly but surely. Who r the legislators? Cruiseshippers r just going to remain aboard the ship and in the city without going on tours hence less money to circulate amongst our people. Lets wait n see the end results of this very soon we will be asking where have all the ships gone to?
Charging $10 for site passes might be a good idea but the additional $5 must go to the ship so they could make some money too.
As a regular traveller on cruise ships, I would like to inform the taxi operators that in every port. the tour operators are separated from taxi operators. The tour operators are lined up within the confines of the dock with private operators outside of that compound, but also lined up in an orderly manner.
I agree with the comment about our facilities. Although there has been much improvement, there is still a lot to be done. Too often one finds a restroom but it is locked. Tourists complain about having to pay to use the toilets after they have paid for the tour. I agree. The tour should include toilet facilities, with the dollar added to the tour price. I went to the Trafalgar Falls restroom and there was no paper towel. On exiting the restroom I was handed a sheet from a roll of paper towels. This is very unprofessional and unnecessary. Why are there never paper towels in public restrooms?? The answer I get is people steal the paper. There are commercial paper holders, and hand air dryers.
I walked with a cup and tissue in my hand for ever, not being able to find a garbage bin in Roseau on the bayfront. These are small things that can easily be addressed to make visiting my beautiful Dominica comfortable.
Dominica is to me the most beautiful country on the cruise ship stops, and have the most to offer as far as natural sites. We do have to charge a fee to visit those sites, that is how we are able to maintain the rest areas.
I am a proud Dominican, I have travelled extensively, but nowhere in the world is better than Dominica for me. Offer constructive criticism instead of negative criticism. The world is reading Dominica news online, be careful what you say online, you may be doing a disservice to your country.
@Following there masters like poodles: so true
Jay & JW… you guys are right. I don’t quite know of all the details on the conditions in Roseau and environs, but I could just imagine, if we continue to have the ‘it’s all for me’ mentality then what’s for them, and why would they come to DA?
Dominican officials realize you can just tell folks to come and then when they do, there is nothing for them to do. Make it worse, when they do come, they cannot access these areas – whether in town or in the various tourist sites.
I imagine most of the folks who visit Dominica, come from developed countries – folks who are used to having things a certain way. And so if we expect them them to come over and over, we have to make sure we treat them with respect enough to cater to their needs. Or else we might as well shut down the cruise industry.
We spend so much time trying to get these tourists to come, want them to tour, want them to rent cars, want them to see the place, but our roads are a mess… the place is not tourist-friendly and we complain when one cruise ship decides to pull out. Surprised? Well, we get what we pay for in this life. So, we if sow mediocrity, then we’ll surely reap mediocre results… and even worse.
Dominica needs to focus on building infrastructure – public spaces, improved parks, roads (with markings and signs), dependable electricity/water; upgraded/new hospitals/clinics; streamlined government services (licenses, permits, etc); enforceable building codes; enforceable traffic safety laws;;; and more signs – street signs, directional signs, informational signs.
Remember, most of the tourists coming to DA at any particular time may never have been there before. If we give people the necessary support and infrastructure for freedom of movement, we will have more tourists spending money. If they are cooped up in a tour bus, then they won’t spend as much. So let’s make Dominica tourist friendly. I suspect that since most of the tourists who visit Dominica may be from the U.S., then cater to them. If simple things like our streets/signs look like theirs, they may be more apt to return to somewhere that looks familiar.
President Obama had promised to have Americans volunteer their time/efforts to helping countries such as ours, so why not take advantage and invite city planners; engineers, fire/police officials, medical personnel, etc. I Dominica can provide lodging/food for these people, I bet more of them would come to our shores (yes and spend their money too), but give of their expertise, talent. In return they will experience one of the best working vacations they have ever had!
OK, nuff said!
When visiting D/ca as soon as the ship stops all kind of zombies emerge looking to beg a dollar… Thriller video from Michael Jackson is less frightening.
The smell of piss is not the most welcoming thing either.
dont Dominicans see that Dominica will never prosper under this corrupted DLP Regime
cant we see everything this Government tries stil is a failure!
we need a regime change saspo..
Taxi drivers complaining
Farmers crying
Nursing complaining
Police resgning in droves
Teachers not accepting govt offer
Public servants cannot get what there were offered
Small businesses cannot get assistance
School leavers cannot get jobs
Truckers protesting
Population worried about crime increase
Population decreasing due to migration etc ete….
Now i am wondering who really happy in this country beacuse i suspect alot of people fronting to be ok while they struggling like me
Why do we wait for serious ills or complaints to happen before we take measures to protect and improve our tourism product? There are a few things we can do to improve our state without costing the Government a dime:
1) Remove the old trucks parked on the sidewalk in Portersville on Goodwill Road opposite Cardec auto Store.
2) Restrict parking on the side walk or part of the side walk.
3) Restrict double parking on single lane roads to facilitate large vehicles and Emergency personal and trucks.
4) Open a pay parking lot in Roseau where people will pay to park from a $1 per 30 min. It doesn’t have to be a parking garage of large magnitude, a simple single paved lot if all that’s needed.
5) Restrict private operators from selling packages within the Bayfront area. One could create a bus line where if a private tour is requested, cruise tourist would go towards the designated bus line to negotiate. These mega money making ships are losing money in Dominica and they would rather pullout and have a “Fun Day at Sea” and make more money selling drinks and gifts and spending less fuel and port and personnel charges. Let’s think ahead and make these sacrificial moves to improve our island.
Talk, talk, talk, and no action. We want everyone to give, give and we give back nothing. We charge site passes for what? A place with no rest rooms? A place that needs no maintenance? We hear other places charge to access certain sites and we jump and charge too, without even knowing what we charging for. We are all about making a quick money without justification. And we wonder why Carnival pull out? Many more will do the same soon if the Government does not wake up and smell the coffee.
I have stood by on at least 3 different ocations and watched with shame as a tourists on power chairs tried to navigate around. Once in the WHS area, once on Marlborough Street, close to Marpin area, and once on King George V Street. Recently passing betweeb PHQ and Astaphans with a baby and had to end up on the street because of the way vehicles were parked there. The sidewalks are already insufficient, allowing motorists to park on the sidewalks too is just not right. We want tourists to come and we don’t look at the big picture. Dominica is not accessible enough for some of them.
The people are used to certain comforts and when they come here, it is beautiful for true, but if they have to be confined to the ship because of lack of accessibility for those in a chair or a stroller, I’m sure they will complain. Where there is a nice sidewalk to use sometimes it stops abruptly and they have to turn back( it was so embarassing to watch) because there is no access to cross the street.