Gibraltar aims for hub status
THERE are many similarities between Gibraltar and Singapore.
Both were once British fortresses, are relatively small and
tight-knit communities, had large naval dockyards, are situated
on busy shipping routes and look to their ports and the maritime
sector for much of their future prosperity.
In reality, of course, the two are vastly different in all sorts of
ways. Most of all, Gibraltar is one of the few territories on Earth
that can make Singapore look positively spacious. It covers just
6.47 sq km. And the population numbers only some 30,000.
During the heyday of the naval dockyard, Spanish workers came
across the border to form much of the yard's labour force. Later,
when the border was closed, Moroccans played an important part
in keeping the economy going.
The border with Spain is open now but Gibraltar's large
neighbour continues to pursue the sovereignty claims initiated by
the late Spanish dictator Franco. Strained relations with Spain
still cast an ever-present shadow over Gibraltar's politics and
economy.
The length of the queue at the crossing tends to reflect the
current state of the relationship between the UK and Spain over
Gibraltar. When things get especially nasty it can take up to six
hours to get in or out. Urgently needed improvements to the
small airport, situated hard against the frontier on the narrow
isthmus separating the colony from Spain, are held up by the
political impasse.
Both these things make it difficult to develop Gibraltar as a
cruise base for coach tours to the surrounding areas of southern
Spain -- a role for which it is geographically well-suited.
Fifteen years ago the Ministry of Defence accounted for about 70
per cent of Gibraltar's GDP. The balance was made up by
tourism and some quite limited commercial activity in the port.
In effect the whole of the Rock was a fortress and most business
activity supported the garrison.
Things are very different now. The military makes up only about
7 per cent of GDP. Most of the former base areas are now
deserted, awaiting a decision on their future use. The majority of
the servicemen have left and the military establishment continues
to decline; a development accentuated this year by the
appointment of the first civilian, Richard Luce, as the colony's
governor.
The past few years have been difficult ones for the whole colony
while the maritime sector has seen several false dawns. The
former Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party government, led by Joe
Bossano, put great stress on building up a financial centre to be
the focus of a new non-military-dependent economy.
That policy has been criticised by supporters of the present
Gibraltar Social Democrat government. Led by chief minister
Peter Caruana, the current administration's priority is to promote
tourism and the maritime industries.
Since tourism to a large extent means cruising as far the Rock is
concerned, it is perhaps not surprising that one minister, Joseph
Holliday, is responsible for both tourism and transport.
The achievements of the Bossano government should not be too
lightly dismissed. While fewer financial institutions have moved
in than had been hoped for there is now the nucleus of an
offshore financial centre in place.
But there is also little doubt that Gibraltar's tourism industry has
yet to realise its potential. The Rock had, frankly, become shabby
and, in places, unattractive to visitors. Matters were made worse
by nasty incidents in a campaign to stop minibuses cutting into
the monopoly that taxis have long enjoyed over tours for cruise
passengers.
The government is now tackling the problems of the cruise
industry head-on. It has refurbished an old cargo shed, turning it
into a respectable modern passenger terminal.
It has also "beautified" the road to the town centre; an important
consideration since many passengers walk the short distance to
the central Main Street and Irish Town areas.
Last month Mr Caruana took the opportunity of the official
inauguration of the new cruise terminal to announce tough action
to end the turf battle between the taxis and the minibuses. He
promised to bring in legislation to impose a solution within 30
days.
Later Mr Holliday told Shipping Times that the government
would set up and physically control a system which gave
passengers about 10 choices of tour, some by taxi and others by
minibus.
The government is certainly serious about pushing the cruise
industry. It had become really worried about the decline in the
number of ships calling which was, at least in part, due to an
increasingly negative image.
The resolve to make cruising a high priority is reflected in the
government's choice of Tourist Board chief executive. Tony Davis
is a cruising fanatic. He takes two or three cruises a year and has
a good in-depth knowledge of the industry.
He admitted that in the past Gibraltar had become complacent
about the cruise industry. The number of cruise calls had
dropped this year. Mr Davis said he thought the port would be
"lucky to get 100 calls in 1997 compared to 139 last year".
He argued that not all of the downturn was due to problems at
Gibraltar. Airtours, for example, had not just dropped Gibraltar
but, for operational reasons, the whole western Mediterranean.
But Mr Davis was confident the measure being taken by the
government would bring back the cruise lines. He hoped to see
150 ship calls next year while the ambitious target for 1999 is 300
calls.
So far Gibraltar has been almost exclusively a port of call for
cruise-ships but Mr Davis has aspirations of turning it into a hub
for fly-cruises.
Next November, as an experiment, P&O Cruises will turn around
the Victoria at Gibraltar, flying passengers in and out of the
airport using 757s -- the largest aircraft capable of using the
short runway.
Mr Davis was confident more cruise operators will use Gibraltar
as a hub port.
Meanwhile, the government continues to aggressively market the
Rock as a port of call. It has joined the recently-set-up
MedCruise Association which aims to both promote the
Mediterranean as a cruising area and, in the longer term, set
minimum standards for port facilities.
Gibraltar does have the sort of attractions that appeal to cruise
passengers. It can offer the uniqueness of the Rock itself, the
many relics of its fascinating history -- such as the siege tunnels
and the Moorish fort -- and better than average shopping.
It has, though, found out the hard way all these things do not, by
themselves, make a good cruise destination.
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