MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cruise season: Punta Arenas expects 20% more visitors

Punta Arenas expects at least 123 cruise calls this coming 2005/06 season, including 75 foreign vessels according to the latest estimate released by the regional ports authority Empresa Portuaria Austral, EPA, which manages Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales.

The increased number of calls will represent 64.119 passengers, a considerable increase over the 103 calls and 51.000 px of the 2004/05 season, which does not include the visitors of the Chilean flagged "Antarctic Dream".

The calendar shows the first international arrival on September 6 when the "Clipper Adventurer" calls in Puerto Natales, and three days later in Punta Arenas.

However the official inauguration of the cruise season in Punta Arenas is scheduled for September 17 with the "Mare Australis", said EPA general manager Eduardo Manzanares.

"This is a very demanding season", admitted Mr. Manzanares since among the calls of next February and March are scheduled "Queen Mary II", the largest and most luxurious in the world, plus the "Millennium" which is replacing the "Infinity".

"With this in mind we're building a landing and boarding system which will enable us to manage more visitors, with greater safety and speed", said Mr. Manzanares.

However he was concerned that if two or three large cruise vessels coincide in Punta Arenas, "anywhere between 3.500 and 4.000 visitors could be landing and we will be needing at least a hundred coaches, which is an extraordinary number for Punta Arenas", besides all the other local services.

Leonardo Castex from the Punta Arenas Maritime Chamber said "Queen Mary" will be calling on February 3 and March 27. Other large cruises include the "Millennium", "Regal Princess" that replaces "Royal Princess" and the "Rotterdam" instead of the "Amsterdam", "confirming the tendency towards larger and larger vessels".

The Chilean Australis Cruise office also reported that their second vessel "Via Australis" with similar capacity to the current "Mare Australis" (136 px) is scheduled to begin operations next January 11.

Operations manager Branko Ivelic said the new vessel built in Valdivia will be doing the same itinerary as the "Mare Australis", Punta Arenas, Puerto Williams, Ushuaia, and Ushuaia-Punta Arenas. The only difference is that "Via Australis" will be leaving Punta Arenas every Wednesday and the "Mare Australis" on Saturdays.

According to Mr. Ivelic most bookings are from European tourists, followed by Americans, Mexicans, Brazilians and Argentines. "Mare Australis" last 2006 cruise will be on April 19.