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FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2017
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‘We need tourists to spend more money’ By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net
TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar. Photo: Terrel W. Carey/ Tribune Staff
TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar yesterday stressed that The Bahamas needs to get its six million annual visitors to spend more money, suggesting that a ‘radically different’ approach is needed to tourism development in the country. Mr D’Aguilar who addressed tourism stakeholders at the British Colonial Hilton yesterday admitted that it was a ‘worrisome’ fact that the higher spending stop-over visitor segment has seen very little growth over the years.
D’Aguilar targets spending by cruise ship visitors Stopover numbers down 6 per cent this year
“Stopover visitors are the most important determinant of the total spend. Our cruise ship passengers are spending $69 and our stopover visitors are spending approximately $1,500. The cruise ship passengers represent 75 per cent of our visitor arrivals yet they only represent 12 per cent of the spend. There is our See PG B2
$100 million a year cost of poaching By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Commercial Fishers Alliance (BCFA) president Adrian LaRoda estimated yesterday that some $100m worth of fisheries product was being lost to poaching annually, telling Tribune Business that the issue remains the biggest challenge facing the sector. Mr LaRoda told Tribune Business : “We still lose about $20m worth of spiny lobster each year to poaching. When we look at the other marine products, all told it about $100m. People seem to forget the amount of grouper and deep water scale fish that we lose to poaching every year.” Mr LaRoda said that while the outlook for this crawfish season likely would not be made clear until month’s end, Bahamian fishermen were “optimistic” and anticipating a good season. “We are optimistic and we are
looking forward to a good season. Last year was pretty good an we are hoping for the same this year,” said Mr LaRoda. “Poaching is always and continues to be the biggest concern for us. The acquisition of new boats for the Defense Force’s fleet has helped tremendously. They have the ability to do more patrols but we would like to see them have even more assets. I believe that they are still under-equipped to do the kind of patrols we feel is adequate for our waters,” said Mr LaRoda, adding, “I think they need at least 20 vessels to adequately patrol our waters.” “They would need at any one point at least five vessels in the southern Bahamas. It is a vast area. They are doing their best and because of their presence poaching has decreased. It is not as bad as it was three years ago and poachers are taking different tactics now. We may not be able to eliminate it but we need to reduce it drastically.”
D’Aguilar urges ‘jaded’ owners to help develop harbourfront By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar revealed yesterday he is trying to engage harbourfront real estate owners over plans to develop and create economic activity in the downtown district, but acknowledged they were “very jaded” having seen repeated talks with government fall though over the years. While addressing tourism industry stakeholders at the British Colonial Hilton yesterday, Mr D’Aguilar said: “When you look at downtown Nassau and the port of Nassau, that is not something I would not necessarily be proud of. The government is seriously underresourced to correct that problem. I’m thinking that some sort of public private partnership in the management of that port is probably the best solution. Now when you come onto Bay Street, that is another issue because you have so many different owners at varying stages of wealth. Trying to get all of them
in one room to agree to do one thing is a challenge.” He continued: “In order to make Bay Street better, it needs three components, a living component, parking component and a food and beverage component. Right now, it has no parking component or living component. I’m trying to engage the owners, seven of them I believe. I’m going to start there and see if we can create economic activity and build out that space. You have to bear in mind the owners are very jaded. I have to rebuild their excitement about doing something down there.They have started and stopped so many times they are jaded about starting again. I’m working on that. That’s one of the first meetings that I had when I took office.” Back in 2014, following China State Construction’s acquisition of the British Colonial Hilton, then Prime Minister Perry Christie indicated that: “The developer has indicated its willingness to join in a public/private sector partnership with the Government and other stakeholders along Bay Street to implement an See PG B2
POACHING remains the biggest challenge facing the sector. Internet Photo
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CARNIVAL CHIEF DEFENDS TRANSPARENCY ON SPENDING Major dismisses claim Bahamas spends more than Trinidad By NATARIO MCKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net FORMER Bahamas National Festival Commission (BNFC) chairman Paul Major yesterday defended the $25m government spend on Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival, arguing that the Commission has been transparent and accountable. Mr Major yesterday responded to recent remarks by former assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Thompson, who has offered to investigate the first two Junkanoo Carnival festivals “free of charge”. Mr Thompson, a Trinidad native and long-time Bahamas resident, has queried why so much was spent on the festivals and suggested that there has been no accountability over the manner in which they were conducted. Mr Thompson also suggested that Trinidad’s PAUL MAJOR Carnival costs far less than the one held in The Bahamas. “The BNFC has always been transparent and accountable in the manner in which it conducted its business with all accounting records and files available for full review by anyone interested in carrying out such reviews. In fact, the accounts of the BNFC are independently audited and those audit reports are also available for review at the discretion of the Government,” said Mr Major yesterday. “On the suggestion that Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival costs more than Trinidad Carnival, a google search reveals that Trinidad and Tobago Government spent over $131m over the past three years as compared with the Bahamas Government’s Carnival-related spend of approximately $25,300,000 over the same period. The Bahamas’ spend, even in start-up mode, was only 19 per cent See PG B2