Banana Coast Hosts Carnival
RCCL and NCL for Site Inspection
MIAMI (Feb. 16, 2012) — Representatives of Carnival Corp., Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Norwegian Cruise Line visited the site of the Banana Coast project — the only new Caribbean destination currently under construction — on Feb. 7. The cruise line executives flew into Trujillo, Honduras, by helicopter as part of an initiative by the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association.
The VIPs included Carnival Corp.’s Jose Negron, director, port operations, port and destination development; RCCL’s Federico Gonzalez, director of government and community relations, Caribbean and Latin America, and Colin Murphy, vice president of destination and strategic development for NCL.
The $30 million project, led by Grande Trujillo Authoridad, Desarollos Vision de Vida and Miami-based Global Destination Development, currently is in the site-work stage with dredging, marine works and site-fill under way.
According to Randy Jorgensen, chief executive officer of Desarollos Vision de Vida, the executives were favorably impressed with Banana Coast’s potential.
“Cruise lines are always looking for new destinations that offer the elements of a great port of call,” he said. “They liked that Banana Coast is within the city limits of a Spanish colonial town just walking distance from the beach, restaurants, bars and historic sites. The port’s location in a protected bay that offers year-round anchorage also was very well received.”
Jorgensen noted that the area’s combination of natural, historical and cultural assets distinguishes Trujillo from most western Caribbean destinations. He said the cruise line executives consider Trujillo a viable alternative cruise destination, and indicated that they would continue to monitor the development of the port.
Plans for Banana Coast call for construction of a two-berth, Post-Panamax dock and a 50,000-square-foot shopping facility and transportation hub on 10 acres of beachfront land. Themed “Where the Rainforest Meets the Sea,” Banana Coast has accepted its first cruise ship reservations for the 2013 season.
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Honduras is now the most attractive foreign investment destination in Central America and Trujillo is poised to become the next Caribbean hot spot. Honduras has in place a stable democratic government, modern infrastructure and a low cost of living.
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The Banana Coast cruise port, currently being built in Trujillo will be the largest main land cruise port in Honduras. Real estate opportunities in the area have started to take off and will continue to grow as the area around develops.