Catalina: A Case of Residents Shaping Policy for Island Port O’Call
CRUISE SHIP AT AVALON HARBOR
Year 2016 Arrivals to the Island Ferry 68.5 % Cruise Tender 24.3 % Private boat 5.3 % Private Plane 1.0% Helicopter 0.9 %
Process to Call Avalon for Cruise Lines • Municipal Code grants Harbor Master authority to control use of harbor facilities • Cruise line contacts Harbor Master • Harbor Master decides if ship can be handled and makes decision
Recent Request by Royal Caribbean • August 2019 Request by Royal Caribbean to call Wednesdays and Saturdays from June 2020 to Sept 2022. • Consistent with tradition, Harbor Master approved Weds calls but denies Saturday calls • RCL approved for weekly calls on Wednesdays • Community learned about it later.
Economic Considerations • Avalon has limited sources of revenue- Annual budget about 28 million per year • Winter season is challenging for tourist- oriented businesses. Many close Jan/Feb
Cruise Tourism Benefits Year round work for • employees so they can live on island Daily Spending in 2016 • averaged $82. Based on tracking • incentives some cruise passenger return for overnight trips City Wharfage Revenue • – over $700,000 per year
Community Concerns-1 • Crowding in downtown • Waste handling sewer/refuse • Resource limitations • Infrastructure needs • Overloading wireless system • Insufficient golf carts for rental
Community Concerns-2 • Ships can not hook to shoreside power • Friends of the Earth report card gives carnival an F • Ships so close you can hear their loud speakers • Hotel guest ask which are cruise ships day before they book • Lines don’t give back to community- chamber memberships, donations • Increasing ship days should be on the ballot • Residents don’t understand why there are no contracts
Literature Review • Contradictory results make generalizations difficult • Little consensus on which variables determine positive residents views- finding are location specific • Residents that benefit economically from cruises have favorable attitudes • See Garcia, Vazquez, and Macias “Resident’s attitudes towards the impacts of tourism, Tourism Management Perspectives, 13(2015) 33-40.
Governance Issues • Failure to notify public before decision made • No written policy on process to approve ship calls- ordinance deals with wharfage rate • Difficulty in determining impacts on resources between day-trippers and cruise passengers • Hispanic population (68.9%) not active in debate. No multi-lingual materials available.
Comparable Tender Ports California City Cruise Ship Resident Passenger Rate Calls 2020 Population US$ (2020) Avalon 133 4000 4.50 Santa Barbara 30 92,000 7.00 Monterey 20 28,000 7.00
A Caution for Cruise Lines • Marketing incentives (rebates) was a lightening rod with community- policy up for review • Residents aware other ports charge more • Commuity members complain there is no visible sign Carnival gives back to community- they are not members of the Chamber of Commerce and have not made donations.
January 21,2020 Adopted Policy • Three ships per week • No limit on numbers of passengers • Tendering at port is self limiting on passenger count/size of vessel
Future Research • Ship calls in 2021 will jump to approximately 160 • Information on resource use anecdotal and needs further study • Separating impacts between day-trippers and cruise passengers has not been adequately done • Resident feedback was in response to a call for comments on policy to be developed. No survey of community members. • Examine residents perceptions including length of time resident on island (No. of generations) and gender identify • Examine ways to manage visitors not exclude them
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