A final draft of a proposed long-term operating agreement between the V.I. government and the cruise industry is expected to be delivered to the Legislature the first week of June.
John deJongh Jr., president of the St. Thomas chamber and chairman of the public-private task force assigned to negotiate with the cruise lines, said Friday that he is drafting the final version of a five-year operating agreement so it can be reviewed by his colleagues. Once signed off on, it will be submitted to the Senate for approval.
The task force was formed in response to Sen. Roosevelt David’s proposal to increase the "head tax" levied on cruise ship passengers arriving in St. Thomas. Under that proposal, a $2.50 hike, which would come on top of a $7.50 passenger fee now collected by the West Indian Co. Ltd., would go to the general fund. Currently, $3.50 of the fee goes to WICO and $4 to the V.I. Port Authority.
David’s proposal sent cruise-dependent Charlotte Amalie merchants into the streets in protest. The St. Thomas-St. John Chamber of Commerce has also opposed the increase.
But after more than a year of negotiations, "We will have a consensus," deJongh said, adding that the "concerns of the local members" are addressed in the proposed agreement.
It stipulates a guaranteed number of port calls over five years that increases annually. The incremental increases are for both winter and summer seasons. If the cruise lines don’t deliver the guaranteed number of passengers, they would have to pay a penalty. The deal also has provisions for increasing ship calls to St. Croix, deJongh said.
The spring 2000 issue of Cruise Industry News cited a draft of the proposed long-term agreement. It said the cruise lines were offering St. Thomas in-season as well as summer-season traffic increases of 10 percent annually, with a 25 percent annual increase for St. Croix.
In its proposal, the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association warned that the Virgin Islands could expect a reduction of about 400,000 passengers a year if the head tax legislation was approved. The reduction could take effect as early as the year 2006, the FCCA said. If the territory ratifies the new agreement, it is guaranteed 1.09 million passengers in the same year.
Members of the task force include deJongh; James O’Bryan from Government House; Pamela Richards of the Tourism Department; Sens. Vargrave Richards and Lorraine Berry; Gordon Finch, V.I. Port Authority; Edward Thomas, head of WICO; the St. Croix Chamber of Commerce; Bill Dowling, Cardow Jewelers; Filippo Cassinelli, A.H. Riise; the FCCA; Carnival Cruise Lines; Princess Cruise Lines; and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
"It’s definitely a cross-section in terms of business, the lines and government officials," deJongh said.