When we came across this video on youtube, we asked ourselves the question, Where are the tourists? Here is a hotel on Grand Bahama Island video taken in 2006 and no one was in the hotel then. Since then to date, we have learned not only Grand Bahama, but Nassau hotels, hotels in Abaco, on Bimini and Exuma look similar to hotel in this on Grand Bahama, ALL ROOMS are NEAR EMPTY!
At the Bimini Bay Resort workers were sent home and told to return in November. In Abaco at the Abaco Club Winding Bay workers there were also made redundant. The same at Atlantis and at Baha Mar. Ocean Club the stand alone product of Atlantis is said to have had two persons for dinner – one night last week – in it fine restaurant in four days. Bahamians must ask themselves, who is now killing our tourism product? Remember now this is a 2006 video shot, so therefore, we cannot blame the Global recession alone for the state of the industry today. This tourist decline has continued year after year.
Is the word about the lawlessness in our Bahamas killing the goose that lays the golden egg? Or have we lost the vision to develop our product. Again Bahamas, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
Vanderpool Wallace is the best thing that ever happened to the FNM. Now lets sit back and see him work some magic tricks.
WOW! Sometimes our little comments can go a long way. That good Min. Vanderpool Wallace is now talking. I hope he comes with some bright ideas that will be able to attract tourists back to our country.
Kim, the sad reality is, there are no tourist to go there! Over at Marina Village last night it was like a ghost town, 3 of the restaurants were close including Bimini Road. I that is how Atlantis is faring, I hate to think how the other hotels are doing.
It also looks like the Minister of Tourism got our message. I saw an ad on ZNS for a presentation he will be hosting on Monday. At last he speaks.
It would be good idea for some investor to get Coral World back in operation again. When the park was first opened in the late 80’s it generated a lot of monies for the country. It was our number one tourist attraction at the time. I use to enjoy going over there with my father, there endless things to do there. I really wish someone could bring it back and make it better than before.
WOW, you really hits on some critical issues.
Joe Blow, it’s not about the rumours (they are just for comic relief). It’s about the deafening silence from the new Minister and seemingly lack of action. Like I said, during the recent storms the Director was fulfilling duties that the Minister should have been performing. Nobody is out there saying that Inagua is just one island and that Nassau and the rest of the Bahamas is fine and open for business. You would be surprised to know what potential visitors are out there thinking happened here in the storm. When they watch their local news reports, they are not explaining the Inagua is just one island of many.
One way we can increase the tourism numbers is to go after the Canadian market more aggressively. The in the last 2 years, the Canadian dollar was at an all time high and worth more than the American dollar for the first time that I can remember. This made it more of a value for them to travel to the U.S. and of course the Bahamas where our dollar is pegged to the U.S. dollar. We should have been hitting Canadian TV hard with our ads. From my viewing of the Canadian channels, this did not happen. I did see an increase campaign in the South Florida market which made no sense to me considering their economy is in a slump so they most likely will visit their own beaches. The last Minister dropped the ball with this (and many other issues), and is seems as if the new Minister is doing the same.
I dont know what team Insane Jane was talking about but I assumed it was the fact that both men were FNM Senators – same FNM team.
GCF that’s a good question, I wonder what team Insane Jane is talking about.
Insane Jane, Vanderpool and McAlpine played on the same team?
Which one of the teams you are talking about ?
Insane Jane laughter is good, especially with the stressing problems that is going on around the country. Who want be up tight all the time, that’s they business. Life is too short for that.
You all really terrible ya !! I try hard not to laugh just now but for real that was kinda funny…..those two looking at each other in the Senate. I hope they remember they playing for the same team. I cant see Vanderpool mixed up in politics. I want to see how long this will last.
LMAO Joe Blow
WOW! you probably hit the nail right on the head, that’s probably why he have been so silent. I really hope he soon snap out of it (lol).
We don’t need anyone to equate plummeting tourism with rumours about past romancing. Loose lips sink ships was a meaningful saying during WW2. Bahamians like too much to gossip. Our past action or non/action or misguided actions have us in this quagmire and it isn’t a laughing matter. Share some of your ideas as to how we can do our part in bringing about a needed change.People in power positions do read these blogs and obviously they all need all the help we can give them.
Kim, it may be a bit hard for him cuz he have to look into McAlpine face in the senate. You know what they say, old flame die hard. LOL.
WOW! he need to get over that and see what he could do with this tourism situation(lol).
You mean to tell me all these people getting lay off cause some baby mamma gone get married?(lol)
Like i said, maybe Vanderpool-Wallace still depressed over the fact that McAlpine marry his baby momma.
GCF I really believe Mr. Vanderpool is the right man for the job. We all are aware of what he did to market our country in the past. It just that now that he is really in the position to make some things happen, he have gone mute on us.
Just a thought:
Maybe, we need to resurrect Sir Stafford Sands vision for Tourism, or put Sir Clement Maynard back in the Tourism office (yes, we must take desperate measures). I like the Tourism minister, Mr. V. Wallace, he has a good talk with a lot of bright ideas, but in this tourism climate “talk is cheap, money bring visitors”
That right Finley, you can not come half way stepping u have to be very specific. How much do time do you think they will need to put together some plans? Looking at the slow visitor arrival and the effect it is having on the economy right now we don’t seems to have much time.
Like I said before, the new Minister has been too silent. Even during the hurricane threats, we heard from the Director General and not a word from the Minister. Wasn’t that a “leadership moment” if any.
I forget to say that it takes time to build a plan as well….
Finley I agree with you these things will take some time. At the moment, we don’t know if there is anything up on the drawing board, cause nobody saying nothing. Knowing how tourism affects all of us and their failure to communicate any plans to improve the current problem with tourism has us a little concerned. We as Bahamian rely heavily on tourism that is our bread and butter.
Shocked things aint things now so they want to invite u and ur family back. I see y u shock.
WOW! the Minister of Tourism should not allow personal issues affect a whole nation (lol).
Me and my peeps spent big money on lunch at one big time hotel on Briland. We asked if our kids could swim in the pool. The big boss say no cause we ain’t a guest. Now I get one invitation in the mail to stay at they hotel for a reduced rate. Sucka please.
Vanderpool- Wallace can provide the leadership, but he cannot do what has to be done alone.We did not get here in three months so it will take time to create the things that Bahamians and our guests would like to see here, ie, attractions, charm, and more vibrant culture and entertainment…
When Vincent Vanderpool Wallace was the Director General Ministry of Tourism I think he did a remarkable job. Everybody was so excited when the Prime Minister decided to appointed him as the Minister of Tourism, We thought that tourism product could only get better and we had anticipate great things happening for the country. Since Min. Vanderpool appointment, I have not heard much about him. It seems as if he as disappeared into thin air.
During this worsening tourism crisis, where is the new Minister of Tourism? There was so much praise over his appointment but since then it seems he has lost his tongue and gone invisible. Or maybe he is still depressed over the fact that McAlpine marry his baby momma, but anyway that’s another story. LOL!
Although some people believe that government is just there to look pretty, I still think they could be doing so much more when it comes to tourism. That nasty tent that they are referring to as a straw market is a disgrace.
They must be moving away from tourism being the number one industry.
generalcrazy you so crazy, when I was watching that video clipping and they show inside the hotel room, I said the same thing too. I would not pay my money to stay in there either.
by da looks of dat hotel i ain wan stay der either.
We did a video here on Bahamas Press about Fort Fin Castle. I advise you Joe Blow and others view that. The area is now filled with stray dogs and cumbersome looking wooden stalls built with scrap wood. The place looks like a shanty Haitian town. The wooden stalls are actually built in the road.
The grass is over grown, the walls around the area are brown down, garbage is all over the place. And to conclude the state of decay Fort-Fin-Castle itself has human feces sitting fresh all throughout the inside the attraction. It actually smells like an unflushed dirty piss-poor sink bathroom! The water tower like the court buildings and almost every other major building the Government owns today, is CONDEMNED AND CLOSED from public viewing (ONE OF THE LARGEST ATTRACTIONS HERE IN THE BAHAMAS!). These are the conditions tourist visit the area under, and guess what, the Ministry of Tourism is celebrating this and that, holding Cacique Award, tourism week, tourism this and Tourism DAT. Partying up themselves and giving contracts to their families with kickbacks to themselves. Whilst paying little attention to the product’s condition. The bottom will soon fallout, whilst they continue partying up themselves with a house that they suppose to be building.
Now this post tells a different picture on Grand Bahama, everything here is clean, but the place is still empty. So what has gone wrong with our product. Perhaps we need to ask Kerzner.
CLICK TO VIEW: https://www.bahamaspress.com/?p=927
Bahamas Press/ Editor
There are many reasons for the decline in visitors to this country and one only has to look at the back of the immigration cards to discern why. “Filthy environment”, “sullen service”, “little new to do or see in Nassau”, “high prices for poor value”, “few authentic souveniers at the StrawMarket. “arguing and cussing by taxi cab drivers”,”clerks who make you wait while they gossip on the phone”
We think that Sun and Sand are enough!
No longer so. As the travelling public became more experienced they began demanding value for their hard earned cash. Service with a smile should have become a Bahamian hallmark. Instead Bahamians continue to confuse service with servitude and no one will come back for a visit to a place where it is obvious that they are not welcomed. Also there has developed an attitude of ill-concealed reverse racism.
Add to all this an ad campaign in the States (our main visitor drawing base)that says it is more economical and safer to vacation in the different parts of that country that can offer so much more.
What is wrong with this picture? We had the goose that laid the golden eggs and then decided we could abuse her, not feed her properly and not appreciate her so she just got tired and decided her “laying” days were over.
Will we get her back to producing again? Only if we clean up our act and our environment, change our attitude, and begin to feel blessed that the visitor chose us over all of the other destinations that they could have chosen. A sweet little sincere SMILE would help too.
I said in an earlier post, Atlantis is just as bad. Anyone notice how lately they are doing alot of advertising towards Bahamians. Watch ZNS this evening and see. When they first opened, they treated us like 2nd class citizens over there. Now they begging us to come over.
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