The Telegraph reports that Cruising Excursions, a company which operates tours exploring Roatan’s "fishing villages, mangroves, iguana farms and beaches," announced that it is canceling its tours on the island.
An excursion company representative said that “a string of reports of robberies, violence against visitors and now this horrific murder have forced us to suspend our cruise excursion programme on this beautiful island. "
The newspaper further quoting the spokesperson saying that it is “very sad for the majority of law abiding island residents, especially those who make a living from tourism but we cannot recommend cruisers go ashore until we are reassured that measures are in place to protect visitors."
The excursion company also said that all bookings have been canceled with full refunds.
Roatan is in crisis mode trying to respond to the murder of a Filipino crew member from the Norwegian Pearl a week ago. We previously reported on the horrific crime.
The excursion company’s withdrawal from Roatan is significant because it was based not only on the recent homicide but on what it describes as a string of violent robberies this year.
We reported on prior armed robberies in January and March.
Roatan attended the Cruise Shipping Miami convention in Miami Beach last month to promote its port. I stopped and took a photo of the booth. I thought that it was just a matter of time before something like this happened.
Photo Credit: Jim Walker