NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Baha Mar’s top executive said yesterday that the government should begin to pull back on COVID protocols for vaccinated guests, noting that the resort destination has now spent over $6 million on COVID-19 tests for its guests and associates.
Graeme Davis, Baha Mar’s president, told a Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) webinar: “We’re still seeing pushback of guests from our major markets in the United States on the mask mandates, and we are now seeing over 90 percent of our guests being fully vaccinated.
“We would expect the government to pull back on some of those COVID protocols for our vaccinated guests.
“The mask mandate removal for hotel guests that are vaccinated would be a tremendous step forward.
“It’s a positive sign to move the 48-hour testing.”
He added: “We have now conducted and paid for over 450,000 tests at Baha Mar for our guests and associates to keep a safe environment at a cost of now over $6 million.
“I would hope that now that we are at the bottom end of this curve of COVID that we can look at relaxing testing protocols coming into the destination to keep us competitive and improve our demand as well as booking pace going forward.”
Davis noted that despite some positive signs of recovery in the tourism sector, the country is “not out of the woods yet”.
I would hope that now that we are at the bottom end of this curve of COVID that we can look at relaxing testing protocols coming into the destination.
– Baha Mar President Graeme Davis
Fred Lounsberry, the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board’s chief executive, also noted yesterday that after recent discussions with airlines that service this destination, they too are anxious to see some movement regarding the relaxation of COVID-19 protocols.
He noted that the elimination of the two-day testing requirement that came out Monday should be welcome news.
He further noted that all airlines continue to struggle with crew constraints.
“They had massive retirements over the pandemic and are finding it difficult to hire and train pilots fast enough to support pre-pandemic capacity levels,” said Lounsberry.
Kerry Fountain, the Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board’s (BOIPB) executive director, said that in terms of room nights sold, BOIPB member properties are hoping to get back to 95 percent of 2019 levels and 86 percent of 2019 levels.
Loading ...
