NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The cruise lines have indicated that they prefer to ditch port of calls like Nassau for their private islands in light of COVID-19 concerns according to Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar.
While such a move would be a massive blow to business in the downtown area and further delay Bay Street’s revival, D’Aguilar said at a press conference yesterday that he had informed the cruise lines that this may be acceptable for a short period but they must return to the major population centres.
Responding to Eyewitness News inquiries during a Minister’s Report press conference yesterday D’Aguilar said, “I think cruise companies are going to be extremely cautions when they restart. They would have ended a battle with the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) which would have put a lot of requirements on them. They indicated that they don’t even want to come to our population centres and they want to go to their private islands. I told them as the Minister Tourism that I could accept that for a short period but you have to come to our population centres to start making an economic making an economic impact.”
During his address D’Aguilar noted that there was no good news to report relative to the cruise market as none of the major cruise lines have received any indication from the CDC on when their no sail orders will be lifted.
“Right now, all of the cruise companies have voluntarily agreed that they will not be sailing until October 31, 2020 but sadly, it seems very likely that cruising out of the United States will not recommence until possibly late November or early December.There is good news however,” said D’Aguilar.
He added, “The cruise industry has actually started back up with a very very limited number of cruises in Europe and so there are signs of a rebirth taking place. According to the cruise companies, the demand for cruises remains extremely robust. People want to cruise, they just need the ships to get permission to do so. Of course, when cruises resumes, The Bahamas is in a wonderful position to take full advantage of this industry. Travelers will want to start on short cruises, not venture far from home and there is no country better positioned than The Bahamas to fulfill this demand.”
The Ministry of Tourism is recommending the implementation of an October 15 2020 re-opening for hotels on all islands to resume full operations and the full use of the beach.
The Tourism Minister however warned, “We cannot afford to open and then close right back down again. That was too traumatic for the tourism sector and significantly impacted our relationship with our travel partners. We need a period of calm, a period of certainty and a period for those in the tourism sector to methodically plan the measured reopening of their businesses.”
D’Aguilar noted that international carriers such as JetBlue, Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta and Southwest are either already offering services or poised to restart in early October, once they learn that the tourism sector is back up and running.
D’Aguilar noted that the Bahamas has seen a significant fall-off in visitor arrivals during the first six months of the year – from a record 3.9 million arrivals in 2019, to 1.7 million in 2020, adding that this 56 percent reduction in our tourism business could not be avoided, owing to the shutdown of both the cruise and airline industries in late March alongside a recent resurgence of COVID-19 in many of The Bahamas’ key markets.
D’Aguilar also noted that he remains optimistic over the industry’s rebound and still holds to an 18-24 month time frame. “A number of people are saying it could take as much as five years to return to pre-COVID levels. I remain optimistic. I’m going to stick with with my 18-24 months. It’s anyone’s guess. We will see where the cookie crumbles. Things may change when a vaccine is rolled out and people feel more comfortable traveling,” he said.
Loading ...
