NASSAU, BAHAMAS — While hotels and beaches across the country are expected to reopen October 15, that announcement “falls flat” for some industry stakeholders who fear that the “vacation in place” will offer little benefit to the wider industry.
Bahamas Taxi Cab Union president Wesley Ferguson said: “I hope it’s not a situation where one transportation company is taking everyone back and forth. We’ve been down that road before.
“Vacationing in place really benefits the resort and that leaves the regular merchants, vendors and tour operators out of the loop, never seeing a dime. Straw vendors and downtown merchants won’t benefit. The announcement really falls flat.”
Ferguson said: “This is more or less an all-inclusive model and locals get nothing from that. My fear is that COVID gives leeway to these kind of arrangements and they stick. That may not be the initial intention but if it proves successful, who is to say it doesn’t stick.
“We don’t need tourists to come here just for numbers, just to say they were here, the wider industry has to be able to feel that, the small man, the vendors, the entrepreneurs. The main attraction is not just the sun, sand and sea, it’s the people and the hospitality. You can get sun, sand and sea in Aruba, Cuba, Jamaica; all those places are beautiful too but it’s our hospitality that separates us.”
The issue as raised during a Minister’s Report press conference on Monday, where tourism officials said that based on the data, the initial wave of visitors will want to shy away from crowded spaces and moving about.
D’Aguilar continued: “Now that we have decided on an opening date, first and foremost our focus is on getting our hotels open then look at our artisans and how we can incorporate them into the product and really encourage our hotel partners to really embrace as much as they can into the hotel product.
“Right now as we look at it, between here, Thanksgiving and December, there is a lot of uncertainty. People don’t know how it’s going to work but once we get into our stride, people get comfortable and we deliver the product as they expect then we will on-board more options for visitors to experience as many Bahamian things as possible.”
Tourism Director General Joy Jibrilu added: “This is an observation we have made. A lot of our major hotels will benefit greatly. Most of our hotels are on the water front.
“Based on the surveys and data, most people are coming for the beach. Every hotel has restaurants but curb side delivery can work and provides an opportunity for Bahamians to be entrepreneurial and work with the hotels.”
