500-PASSENGER CRUISE SHIPS TO VISIT GALAPAGOS
To learn how Galapagos tourism is changing, read below about a new series of cruises next year by the 500-passenger ship, MV Discovery. A modest beginning, carefully controlled and monitored, certainly to the benefit of the local community - that's how it's being presented. But, given Galapagos' social and political milieu, will it work that way? Many questions come to mind.
Millions of dollars are at stake. Should environmental impact studies come back negative, will they be heeded? In a town whose mayor hosted an illegal fishing tournament this year, will regulations really be upheld?
What social impacts will this have? Will this not be a catalyst for immigration of people to San Cristobal in search of jobs? Will locals really benefit, or just a few individuals? How will fishermen, in particular, benefit from large-scale tourism?
What does this hold for the future of Galapagos tourism? When the money starts flowing, won't the people of Puerto Villamil deserve to be included? And won't the people of Puerto Ayora petition for their share? How will this affect the owners of smaller boats? Is this not another evolutionary step in the nature of the Galapagos traveler, from eccotourist to generalist? Is this another classic case of devolution into mass tourism, as happened in the Caribbean?
We do not hear many others, even in the travel industry, asking these questions. Perhaps it's because there exists no clear vision for the future of ecotourism in Galapagos.
Enter the cruise industry
"Discovery World Cruises appreciates the delicate ecological balance of the Galapagos. Therefore the number of passengers allowed on our Galapagos cruisetours is limited to 500 passengers for each itinerary."
So states the online brochure for the MV Discovery, which has scheduled Galapagos cruises in March, April, and December next year and into 2007. One cruise spends five days in Galapagos (out of a 53-day itinerary), another three days, and another just one day.
RETNAP is an acronym from Spanish for Special Regulation for Tourism in Protected Natural Areas. There is such a regulation permitting up to twelve 500-passenger cruise ships per year to visit Galapagos. Discovery World Cruises is the first cruise line to take advantage of it.
"It used to be that only smaller yachts could take guests to the Galapagos," said Mark Flager, vice president of sales, marketing and passenger services for Discovery World Cruises. For 2006, MV Discovery offers travellers the adventure of the Galapagos with the best creature comforts and most shipboard amenities of any passenger vessel sailing to the islands."
The rationale for permitting larger cruise ships into Galapagos is to boost the faltering economy of the island of San Cristobal, which has fewer than 6,000 inhabitants. Cruise ships, it is argued, will bring income and jobs to the people living there, and to the government and Park.
There are restrictions: Ships up to 500 passengers can only visit San Cristobal, where they must anchor off the provincial capital of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. To do this, they must first obtain an environmental licence from the Ministry of Tourism, which is dependent on an environmental impact study. And they must fulfill the requirements applied by the National Park and the quarantine authorities.
Discovery World Cruises said that all of this has been vigorously carried out, requiring over a year of work with the Ministry of Environment and National Park. (This work was done during the previous administration.)
Ships first sail into a port in Ecuador (such as Manta) to clear customs, pay port taxes, and undergo inspections. Afterwards, they can sail to San Cristobal, where passengers visit sites on local boats, which bring them back to the ship for the night. After each cruise, a survey on customer satisfaction and benefits to the local community must be carried out to determine the feasibility of continuing with the programme.
Discovery World Cruises' vice-president of itinerary development, Tim Davey, said that their cruises are expected to have an economic impact of $4 million, including national park fees, tours and souvenirs. With a ship every month, he estimated that the economic impact could total $20 to $30 million annually.
Davey discounts the risk of runaway development, as he says it's such a high-profile project with so many different entities looking at it, both private and government.
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