The organization wrote Florida cruise association, asking them to “cancel or postpone” Belize conference

The Federation of Cruise Tourism Association of Belize (FECTAB) held a press conference today, Wednesday, to express their dissatisfaction with tour arrangements that have been assigned to Chukka Belize to facilitate the Platinum Membership Advisory Council Cruise Conference (PAMAC).

PAMAC is held for and hosted by the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) in partnership with the host country for Platinum cruise members.

The conference is to be held from June 19 to 23, 2013 and while the attendees for the conference are in the country, all land-based tours they participate in will be conducted by Chukka Belize, a Jamaican-owned tour operator.

FECTAB members are upset because Belizean tour companies were excluded from the arrangements, they said.

FECTAB wrote a letter to FCCA president Michele Paige on June 18, 2013 requesting that the association cancel or postpone the conference in Belize.

In the letter, Greenwood wrote that FECTAB feels that the BTB and Ministry of Tourism have “tragically and most unfairly granted all land tours to the Jamaican tour operator, Chukka, in the face of similar offers by several Belizean operators of complimentary tours for FCCA Platinum members.”

The letter went on to state that FECTAB feels the decision made by BTB and the Ministry will cause severe damage to the operations of the Belizean tour companies and their allied businesses and also will cause substantial loss to them.

Tom Greenwood, president of FECTAB, said that the opportunity given to Chukka Belize has put Belizean operators at a significant disadvantage and gives the impression that foreign tour operators can do a better job at Belizean tours than the Belizean tour operators.

“The more than 50 delegates who include wholesalers, members of the Platinum part of the FCCA, and all the cruise lines attending are going to be left with one simple idea, Chukka, a Jamaican tour operator that has come to Belize and registered in Belize are the only ones capable of handling the land tours,” he said, adding, “Every single one of these land tours was put together and organized by native Belizeans, except for two.”

Those two tours are the rappelling and Crystal Cave facilities.

Greenwood denounced the decision made to give land-based tours only to Chukka. He said he believes that the tours could have been shared among different tour operators because they all offer the same complimentary (free) tours that Chukka does.

“As president of the Cruise Federation I totally and utterly condemn this decision by the Minister of Tourism, Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Board,” he said. “It should have been shared. It should have been shared.”

David Almendarez, of Fantasea Belize, reiterated Greenwood’s point that the tours could have been shared amongst the different operators. There are 50 registered tour operators in the city, but only one of them was chosen and he sees it as an unfair decision.

“When every tour operator is in the middle of the ‘mawga season,’ this could have been a beautiful chance for 50 companies to take four, five platinum members and offer them some of the most beautiful tours we could see in Belize,” he said. “Fifty companies could have showcased their talents to this platinum group that is in Belize.”

Almendarez said that the decision has caused the country to lose income, as Chukka is a foreign-owned company. If the other companies were given an opportunity, the money made by the Belizean operators would remain in Belize, he reasoned.

Yoni Rosado, of cavetubing.com, said that they are not upset because FECTAB did not get an opportunity. They would have been pleased if any other Belizean company were able to get in on the action. They just don’t see it fair that the only tour operator chosen was the only foreign-owned service provider.

“We can do whatever Chukka does, for cheaper and better,” Rosado said. “Chukka is claiming that they are creating new employment. It is the same employment that a local tour operator can have. They are not creating anymore employment than a Belizean can operate.”

And while FECTAB lashed out at BTB and the Ministry for their decision, Director of Tourism at the BTB, Laura Frampton, told the media today that the decision was made by a committee of the FCCA. She said that first preference would go to members of FCCA, and Chukka, a member, made an offer that was accepted.

Frampton said that the event FECTAB had today could only create doubt and concern in the mind of the FCCA executives if Belize is the right choice for the conference. But she said that for the BTB, it only means they’ll have to work harder on proving what a great country Belize is for them to visit.