By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas must look to improve its quality of service within the tourism sector or face losing its competitive edge according to Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe, who warns “we can’t rest on our laurels.”

Mr Wilchcombe told Tribune Business that while visitor arrivals and hotel occupancy levels were strong in 2015 to date, there is still more work to be done.

“It’s been an exceptional year so far,” he said. “We’re doing well but we can’t rest on our laurels. Our country has turned the corner. The tourism numbers are looking good but that’s not enough for me because I have some concerns. For instance, we have to improve our quality of service otherwise we will lose our competitive edge. We have got to improve our product offerings.

“We have been hearing the criticisms, whether from the cruise lines and others. We need the proper private sector relationships to enhance the product offering otherwise we are going to lose a lot of business. We need more tours in the capital. We need more things for people to do generally particularly as it relates to entertainment. We need to ensure that our heritage and culture is lifted and the standards are there to provide the experience to the visitors that they will be able to get an understanding of who we are as a people.”

Mr Wilchcombe said that service levels were of particular concern because “that’s where you lose your competitive edge”.

“We need to create in The Bahamas a standard of excellence. We can do all the work, get a good surge of business and then it all dies because people come and then they are unhappy. We don’t want that to happen.

“I feel good about the inventory at this point. The airlift has been good, the cruise business been good, our numbers have been up, our arrivals numbers have been up, our occupancy levels have been up and our average daily room rates have been up. That’s good but that’s not all that the industry requires.

“We have to create a demand for ourselves where people are dying to come to The Bahamas. You create the demand process and you are going to do more to create sustainability and that’s what we are doing now,” said Mr Wilchcombe.