KRALENDIJK – The new Commissioner of Economy and Tourism, Clark Abraham, disagrees with the policy that only one cruise ship should be allowed to visit the island per day.

Abraham stated this on Wednesday afternoon in response to questions from the press during the quarterly press conference of TCB on tourism results. “In fact, the question should not be how many ships the island can receive, but rather what is the number of passengers they have on board.” The deputy gave an example that two small cruise ships with only a hundred passengers each on board have much less impact than one cruise ship with 4000 passengers on board.

The Commissioner is of the opinion that tourism partners should consult with each other to determine the desired number of cruise passengers that can reasonably be received and served in a day. “What can the island reasonably handle, that is the key question,” said Abraham. The policy to bring about as much dispersion as possible still stands.

Promising

Cruise tourism for the year 2024 looks very promising based on the first bookings from cruise companies coming in at the port office. A total of over 400,000 cruise tourists are expected next year.