entertainment system, comfortable handicap accessible seats, large overhead compartments for hand luggage, an air-conditioned deck and a sun deck. In the case of the America Cruise Ferry that provides services between the Dominican Republic and Puerto, the ferry is much bigger and sophisticated ship. Since it is an overnight service, the ship also has different types of suites for passengers to sleep in, several restaurants, a store and bars.

Currently ferry service in the Caribbean is scattered in niche markets and usually local, mainly to connect islands within the same country. More than half of the Caribbean traffic is concentrated in domestic traffic, representing 66 percent of the total ferry traffic (Table 28). Most of the domestic traffic comes from Trinidad and Tobago, concentrating 31 percent of the total domestic traffic. The intra-regional traffic comprises only 4 percent of the total traffic. The only intra-regional traffic within the Caribbean countries is between Guyana and Suriname, with only 400 seats of the total traffic. With 30 percent of the total traffic, extra-regional traffic is concentrated in very few countries: Dominica, St. Lucia and the Dominican Republic.

|**Table 28: Ferry **|**Traffic Overview per M**|**arket**|
|---|---|---|
|**Market**|**Estimated Seats**|**Share (%)**|
|Domestic|5,887|66|
|Intra-Regional|400|4|
|Extra-Regional|2,644|30|
|**Total**|**8,931 **|**100**|

_Source: Authors' compilation based on interviews._ When looking at the traffic per Caribbean country group, 48 percent of the total traffic is concentrated in the hubs. Trinidad and Tobago concentrates 20 percent of the Caribbean Hub market (Table 29). With only one ferry company operating 3 vessels, Trinidad moves approximately 1,039,119 passengers a year. Although the Dominican Republic has extra-regional ferry services, this service has only 2 routes and 1 vessel for each route. Furthermore, they do not provide the service on a daily basis.

Traffic in the Continental Caribbean between Suriname and Guyana only represents 4 percent of the total ferry traffic (Table 29). The Canawaima ferry moves approximately 72,000 passengers annually between Guyana and Suriname. The ferry is considered to be essential for trade and tourism and has reinforced bilateral trade relations between the two countries (Kaieteurnewsonline, 2013).

The small island states comprise 47 percent of the total ferry passenger traffic, mostly concentrated between St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. In St Kitts and Nevis, there are 4 ferry operators traveling this route, concentrating 12 percent of the total small island states’ routes. Since there is more than one operator traveling the same route, passengers have more options, and are this more likely to consider the ferry service as the main way for travel between islands. St. Vincent and the Grenadines concentrates 14 percent of the total small island states’ market. Although the ferry service is a domestic service, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of several islands and there are 5 operators connecting the St. Vincent with the main Grenadines islands of Bequia, Union Island, Canouan, and Mayreau.

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