Government signs MoU to lease Cruise Ship Port
When Global Ports Holdings (GPH) took over the cruise ship port in Nassau, Bahamas, what a cruise ship tourist spends moved from $56 per person/per passenger to the highest in the Caribbean at $128 per passenger.
That is one of the points made by GPH Chairman Mehmet Kutman on Wednesday June 10, 2026 at Cabinet Room as he tried to sell to Vincentians the decision by the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration to lease the Cruise Ship and Ferry Berth to GPH for 30 years.
On Wednesday, GPH and the government signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), said to be aimed at supporting development for the local cruise tourism sector and creating new opportunities for local businesses.
According to Kutman SVG is relevant to the cruise industry, but it is under marketed because the infrastructure is not “there yet”.
“…our primary duty is to ensure that through the marketing, through the renewed infrastructure, through our links and channels…we have very good relations with all the cruise lines…that the marketing is there.
“Hence, the brand gets what it deserves. In my opinion, the traffic that we have, I think around 200,000 plus or minus, should reach triple that number within the next five years, five to seven years, once all the infrastructure is in place,” Kutman said.
He said that GPH is not taking over the cruise port, but operating as a tenant aiming to make a profit, while benefiting the various tourism stakeholders and the government.
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