<p>Hundreds of stakeholders turned out on Thursday evening at the Heritage Hotel to witness the presentation of a comprehensive master plan which is aimed at refreshing the port facilities in downtown St. John&rsquo;s.</p><p><br />John Tercek, vice president for commercial and new business development at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd made the presentation in the presence of Tourism Minister Harold Lovell, President of the Antigua and Barbuda Cruise Tourism Association (A&amp;BCTA) Nathan Dundas and Director of Antigua Pier Group (APG) Conrad Pole.</p><p><br />Tercek identified and laid out a comprehensive programme that addresses multiple issues relative to cruise tourism.</p><p><br />He believes there is great potential for the development of the St. John&rsquo;s waterfront, in particular, areas from the Fish Market all the way south to the Deepwater Commercial Port with further concentration on the cruise-tourist areas of Redcliffe and Heritage Quays. The entirety of the proposed development takes into consideration opportunities for improved road and parking infrastructure, enhancement of linkages between all of the waterfront properties to provide local residents, land-based and cruise visitors with an enhanced onshore experience. The dynamics associated with the development include improved berthing facilities and an additional berth at the Deep Water Harbour, a comprehensive signage programme that incorporates informational, directional and regulatory signs and lighting, a taxi dispatch and welcome centre, modern restroom facilities, a yacht marina and slips, a downtown boutique hotel, residential and entertainment facilities that take advantage of harbour views, restaurants and bars, designer shopping boutiques, a boardwalk and beautification and landscaping of some areas.</p><p><br />Lovell said it was agreed that the master plan will be jointly funded by Royal Caribbean Cruises and the government of Antigua and Barbuda explaining that the process has been executed in a serious and impressive manner.</p><p><br />&ldquo;Earlier this year, John came to Antigua and made a presentation to the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda. It came out in that presentation that in preparing for the final conceptual draft, several consultations took place right here in St. John&rsquo;s,&rdquo; Lovell said.</p><p><br />&ldquo;It represents not just the ideas of the master planners or the government agents involved but it represents the views of other stakeholders. We feel that the way forward is for us to develop a multi stakeholder approach to this project.&rdquo;</p><p><br />Meanwhile, Dundas said the country has been positioning itself over a number of years as one of the premier destinations for cruise arrivals.</p><p><br />In 2005, Dundas recalled there were over 445,000 passengers calling on the port, in 2006 there were over 453,000 passengers, and in 2007 over 600,000 came to the island while the sector is projecting over 680,000 passengers for 2008-2009.</p><p><br />&ldquo;It&rsquo;s no coincidence that we&rsquo;ve been able to achieve these remarkable increases that we are experiencing here in Antigua and Barbuda,&rdquo; Dundas added.</p><p><br />Just recently, the local cruise sector received bookings from Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines with respect to 2009 to 2010; it will be sending one of their large new vessels to summit into Antigua. In so doing, the cruise line has requested birthing arrangements for that ship. &ldquo;When we see the increases taking place, we understand that with an increase of passengers, we should also have increase infrastructure to handle those passengers who are coming in,&rdquo; Dundas stated.<br />&nbsp;</p>