A hospitality specialist in the Caribbean — and one-time Bermuda hotelier — has urged Bermuda and Caribbean islands to seek a larger slice of cruise ship profits.

He points to the modern-day cruise ship product and “exploitative” practices as a major factor in the downturn of retail — including as much as a 50 per cent take from shore excursions, forcing tour boat operators and others to raise their prices.

The concern is the much smaller amounts that cruise ship passengers spend on islands while in port, compared with air arrivals, and the cruise lines’ domination of passenger spending.

Robert MacLellan, a hospitality, tourism and real estate consultant, is adamant that the islands are getting much less than they should from cruise visits and should renegotiate with the cruise lines.

For several years, he has expressed concerns about the economic impact of the cruise industry on the Caribbean's hospitality sector.

The one-time cruise ship operator and former Bermuda hotelier said while Bermuda may take a larger slice than Caribbean islands, it still should be demanding more of the cruise ship dollar.

Mr MacLellan’s company, MacLellan & Associates is a development and investment advisory firm servicing the hospitality, tourism and real estate sectors across the Caribbean and Atlantic Islands.

He said it is the largest advisory firm of its kind that is actually based in the region — with consultants located in Bahamas, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and St Lucia, where he is based.

The one-time resident manager of the Bermuda Holiday Inn of the last century, has also been involved in local resort development more recently.

The executive spent three years of his early career as a hotel officer on board cruise ships and later was hotel services vice-president for four explorer cruise ships.

He has now written an article and posted on his company website his concern that island economies are getting less than they deserve from the cruise industry.

He said: “Today’s giant cruise ships have large-scale leisure facilities on board including restaurants, bars, shops, casinos and water parks, which now present a direct disincentive to spending time — and money — in Caribbean ports.

“Ships now ban bringing duty-free liquor on board in calling ports — on ‘security’ grounds. Ships have their own jewellery and electronics shops on board.

“While Sint Maarten is still one of the more successful cruise ship calling ports for retail outlets, even there the size of the duty-free retail sector in Philipsburg has diminished considerably in recent years, thanks to direct competition from on-board shops.

“Ships’ commissions for shore excursions have risen over the last few decades from 10 per cent to 50 per cent.

“That inevitably drives shore excursion prices significantly higher, as local companies struggle to operate vehicles and boats on a viable basis. The end result today is that fewer passengers actually go on excursions and more passengers never go ashore at all in many Caribbean ports.

“On that basis, trying to compare ‘spend per hour’ from the reduced percentage of cruise ship passengers going ashore against the spend of longer term stay-over tourists on the islands is fanciful.”

He raises doubt on the veracity of a published claim that the average spend per Caribbean cruise ship passenger is $165 or $30 per hour on shore.

He said average cruise ship ticket prices had declined in real terms over recent decades, attracting more budget-oriented passengers.

“Cruise ships inevitably benefit from much lower operating costs, due to their tax structures in offshore jurisdictions and from their ultra-low direct wage costs for most of their Third World-sourced crew.

“However, island-based companies in the hospitality sector pay high local taxes and employ local staff — at the very least — on a legal minimum-wage basis. Those local payrolls, including income tax and national insurance contributions, have a beneficial multiplier effect across island economies on a much higher ratio than direct cruise ship revenue.

“In the Caribbean, cruise ships currently pay very low port taxes on a per passenger basis, contrary to the much higher taxes levied in Alaska, New England, Canada and the Mediterranean. It appears that the Caribbean genuinely needs to catch up or remain being unfairly exploited in this regard.”

He said air travellers contributes to local taxation via very high taxes for airport arrivals/departures and on local air tickets themselves.

“Incidentally, these high airline-related taxes have decimated intraregional air travel,” he added.

“Hotel occupancy taxes and sales and value-added taxes represent further stay-over visitor contributions, as well as customs import duty on the multiple items which those visitors consume on island.”