ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, Fri., Nov. 26: The silver lining in the dark cloud that settled over Grenada’s cruise tourism industry following the Sept. passage of Hurricane Ivan has been found since the arrival of the Norwegian Spirit on Tuesday, November 9. President of the Spice Isle Taxi Association, Joseph Nelson, says that since the arrival of that first ship which carried 1984 passenger business in the sector, a backbone of the Spice Isle’s economy, has being on the upward trend. Since the docking of the Norwegian Spirit, there have been more than 30 cruise ships of varying sizes, docking at port St. George. “Business is getting brighter and we hope it continues to improve,” said Joseph. One of the initiatives immediately taken was the retraining of licensed vendors, taxi-drivers and other service providers who are now required to display their post-hurricane Ivan certified badge. They have now departed from the various association colors of blue or yellow shirts and are now wearing special t-shirts and photo identifications badges. “These service providers earlier participated in a series of orientation workshops which focused on the delivery of quality service to visitors and locals as well,” stated the public relations office at the Grenada Board of Tourism. Another initiative is the approving of tourist attractions sites. Officially there are more than 30 tourism sites but the winds of the hurricane destroyed or damaged those of the venues leaving little or nothing behind. To date, there are now 12 recertified by the Board of Tourism, which provides visitors with a heritage view of the island. The official beaches are now Grand Anse and Morne Rouge but spice shopping is limited to the Welcome Center & Vendors Markets and the Grand Anse Spice Vendors Market. Visitors can also visit the Camehogne Park, stroll around the Carenage, Grand Etang Nature Reserve, Annadale Waterfall and Mount Carmel Waterfalls, the Clabony Sulphur springs, Douglaston Estate as well as Forts Frederick and George. The tourism sector is seen as the lead sector in recuperation of the services sector in the island. With this mind the accent will be placed on product diversification involving education, heritage, sports and leisure and entertainment as well as community attractions. Reprinted from Hardbeatnews.com