NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas must urgently address the crime situation, according to a former Tourism Minister who warned that if the situation continues to worsen, the fallout on the country’s tourism sector could be severe.
Dionisio D’Aguilar, the former Tourism Minister under the Minnis administration, noted that the recent US travel advisory may not have an immediate impact on visitors who have already booked to this destination but warned that if the situation goes unchecked and continues to worsen, it could impact potential visitors’ perception about the safety of the country.
“Crime is impacting the lives of Bahamians and encroaching into areas frequented by visitors, which is concerning. There are troubling trends in crime, with murders occurring at an alarming rate. While I’m not a professional in policing and don’t know the solutions, many experts in our country understand what needs to be done. The perception, whether rightly or wrongly, is that crime is worsening,” D’Aguilar told Eyewitness News.
“At this stage, it may have little impact when most reservations are already booked, but it’s a slippery slope. If the situation deteriorates or fails to improve, these issues become like cancer. If it worsens unchecked, the impact will be significant. An American traveler may reconsider visiting The Bahamas, opting for a perceived safer destination in their Caribbean journey. While it’s currently not severely impacting tourism, if the situation isn’t addressed, it will worsen.”
The US State Department has intensified its language to visitors over the weekend, warning Americans to “exercise extreme caution when traveling to The Bahamas due to crime.” The US State Department issued a “Security Alert” to its citizens visiting The Bahamas on January 24, 2024; however, just days later, that travel warning was increased to a “Travel Advisory,” as the country recorded two more murders on Friday night and early Saturday morning.
International media houses like the New York Post, which published the Travel Advisory, said: “Think twice about a tropical getaway to the Caribbean this winter.”
“Safety concerns have reached a point of severity where US officials say people shouldn’t even try to ‘physically resist’ being robbed.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to the travel advisory, said in a statement: “The Government of The Bahamas has taken note of a number of advisories about personal security issues when tourists travel to The Bahamas. While we acknowledge that states have a right to inform their citizens traveling abroad about potential risks, we do not believe that there is any elevated or increased security risk to tourists traveling to The Bahamas.
“We encourage all of our visitors to come to The Bahamas. We believe that anyone visiting The Bahamas for tourism or business should take the normal prudent precautions that any visitor to a large city in the developed world will take.
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