Cruise On Paramaribo

Abstract

Surname is known for its rich colonial history and its export of coffee, cocoa and sugar, produced on plantations. Workforce was pulled away from agriculture industry when bauxite became an important export product which mines got exhausted recently. Nowadays, mining of minerals such as oil and gold is important for the economy of Suriname. The economy is therefore very sensitive for global price fluctuations resulting in instability, raising a relevant question on searching for more sustainable resources fort he economy to built on. Tourism has proven great potentials to contribute to a growth of economic development for countries. Cruise tourism is one of the fastest growing components of the tourism sector and is expected to continue even further. Due to its geographic position, pleasant climate, cultural and ecological attractions, Suriname has great potential to cherry-pick from the benefits of the rising popularity of different cruise tourism markets. The government has the ambition to increase the number of annual tourists by investing in many projects such as the improvement of infrastructure and river dredging, but currently has no sufficient port facilities to accommodate potentials of the growth in cruise passengers. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine a feasible and socially desirable way to develop a cruise port in Paramaribo. From this study, it is concluded that a cruise port in Paramaribo may be feasible and contribute to a more stable economy in Suriname. The port could be positioned at best near the city centre. It is estimated that the significantly large investment needed to build on shore facilities are not directly earned back from passenger onshore expenditures, but expenditures of cruise operators for on-board provisions and other indirect or induced benefits are very promising. The design is made for a convertible terminal lay-out, which incorporation may add value and contribute to other urban projects increasing the tourism potential for Paramaribo as a whole. The successfulness of this project is dependent on the execution of other urban projects, such as dredging of the Suriname River to be able to include cruise ship handling for ships with deeper draughts, infrastructural improvements to prevent traffic congestion and urban rehabilitation projects to increase attractiveness for cruise passengers and encourage them to revisit Suriname. The willingness from cruise operators and residents, investments and governmental participation is also crucial, in which fund raising and further specification of a project plan timeline and a more detailed analysis of costs estimations are considered as the next step after this research.