By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis insisted that six percent unemployment by next year is achievable, adding officials planned to do this by expanding the tourism sector alone.

This expansion, however, will not feature building more hotels, Dr Minnis told Parliament yesterday.

Earlier this month the prime minister predicted the national unemployment rate would drop to six percent or less by the end of 2021.

But Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis expressed scepticism, accusing Dr Minnis of making the statement as a political strategy.

Yesterday, Dr Minnis hit back describing Mr Davis as a leader lacking vision or imagination.

“I have heard and read commentary that it is highly improbable that we can get unemployment down to six percent,” Dr Minnis said. “We need to think boldly and with greater vision and imagination, which is lacking in the leader of the Opposition and his visionless party.

“We need to rethink and innovate when it comes to economic model that some rigidly propose for tourism development. We need to update our thinking about the economics of tourism.

“According to some, the only path to rapid employment is the construction of a very large resort. Fortunately, the economic model that assumes this is not the only path to rapid employment in the tourism sector.”

He continued: “Many may be surprised to hear that there is an existing property with wonderful amenities and 6,300 vacant rooms that sits empty every night in the Bahamas.

“Here is how we make that property visible. There are approximately 18,000 hotel rooms available in The Bahamas for the accommodation of visitors.”

The prime minister said annual occupancy of these rooms hovers at around 65 percent or an average 6,300 rooms vacant every night throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

He said some assume that maximum average annual occupancy of hotel rooms across the Bahamas cannot exceed 65 percent and when that level is reached, the country needs to start looking for new investments.

This assumption is completely wrong, Dr Minis said.

“We need to remind the sceptics that not so long ago, properties on Paradise Island with more than 1,000 rooms regularly ran occupancies of 85 percent year round. Those sceptics also need to digest the fact that cruise ships arrive in the Port of Nassau with near 100 percent occupancies year round.

“We must focus even more to make the adjustments to move the occupancy needle beyond 65 percent. Let’s just suppose, we move hotel occupancies from 65 percent to 85 percent, not 100 percent. Eighty five percent occupancy would mean an additional 3,600 rooms occupied every night in the Bahamas.

“That is equivalent to filling a property one and half times that size of Baha Mar every night.”

“An additional 3,600 rooms occupied every night at double occupancy would mean an additional 438,000 annual stopover visitors with an average length of stay of six nights.

“… That’s why I am confident that Free Town will achieve 8m visitors,” Dr Minnis continued.

“With each visitor spending the average $1,500 per visit, moving occupancies from 65 percent to 85 percent would mean an additional $657 million in incremental visitor expenditure in the Bahamas.

“When we look at the data showing the number of direct, indirect and induced jobs that would be created by such an outcome, the six percent level of unemployment is achievable from tourism sector expansion alone and without building one more room in the Bahamas.”