OFF THE CHOPPING BLOCK…FOR NOW: Health visa to remain for int’l visitors; Kanoo contract under review

OFF THE CHOPPING BLOCK…FOR NOW: Health visa to remain for int’l visitors; Kanoo contract under review
(FILE)

Cooper: I anticipate the travel health visa for international travelers will “remain for some time”

Removing travel health visa was key campaign promise of PLP

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The travel health visa for international visitors to The Bahamas will likely be in place for some time as it is “critical” for the development and advancement of tourism, according to Tourism, Investments and Aviation Minister Chester Cooper.

Chester Cooper.

He also noted that the government is reviewing the contract with health visa payment processor Kanoo.

“We’ve made some changes to the travel visa process. We have streamlined the process for inter-island travel and we are eliminating the fees on international travel for Bahamians,” said Cooper.

“At the moment, we are maintaining the travel visa for international persons coming to The Bahamas. We are reviewing and going to streamline the process as best as possible.

“The data being received on the international side is critical to the development and advancement of tourism. I anticipate that that will remain for some time.

“As it relates to contracts, we are reviewing the entirety of the arrangement.”

Cooper declined to comment further on the matter, only adding: “Our focus really is restoring tourism, getting more tourists to return to our shores. That’s our primary focus over the next few months.” 

Scrapping the travel health visa was a key campaign promise of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).

The party was also heavily critical of Kanoo’s involvement with the travel health visa. Kanoo’s principals include Keith Davies, the Bahamas International Securities Exchange’s (BISX) chief executive; Chairman Nicholas Rees; and Chief Financial Officer Herbert Cash. Among the company’s directors is Dr Nigel Lewis, the Free National Movement’s (FNM) national campaign coordinator.

1 comments

What the ,,,, happened to free testing for all bahamians traveling or not it’s our health system it hasn’t been completely given away yet, soooo we want free RAT, free PCR, and unrestricted travel to all of our family islands to and from beach and every island, when one arrives in Florida and wants to go to Chicago you just go no more checks as to visa or PCR what’s different here, make the test free if you want them taken.

Comments are closed.