• January yacht charter fees ‘way down’

• ABM president says drop-off ‘noticeable’

• Caribbean ‘booming’; Bahamas ‘a bit slow’

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president says “it’s kind of freaking me out” that there has been a “noticeable” slowdown in boating/yachting traffic ahead of the Spring season’s peak.

Peter Maury told Tribune Business he fears that the Caribbean’s post-pandemic re-opening, combined with tightened COVID testing protocols and bureaucratic entry requirements, are cutting into the increased business Bahamian marinas and related enterprises enjoyed in 2020 and 2021 after the most restrictive lockdowns were lifted.

“We’re hoping that in March that it picks back up, but it’s a little slower than it was last year,” Mr Maury said. “It’s noticeable. It’s kind of freaking me out to tell you the truth. I can tell you I know what we collected in January of last year in yacht charter fees, and we’re not even close to that this year. We’re way down.

“Last year [2020], the Caribbean was dead. This year we knew they were opening up and, of course, the boats that came in October, November 2020 and were just staying, that definitely did not happen this time. They went back to the US and the Caribbean because of the issues getting in and out with the testing.

“When the Caribbean was closed, all the boats came over here and stayed. It was the whole month of January and February last year. Right now, a lot of boats have gone off and are doing charters in the Caribbean. I’ve heard the Caribbean charter market is booming, but we’re a little slow.”

With Easter falling in mid-April this year, Mr Maury, who manages Bay Street Marina, voiced optimism that the spring boating season “will lead right into summer” and result in several strong months for the sector and associated industries prior to the traditional slowdown at the peak of hurricane season.

“We’re hoping that the boats stay, and don’t go south or north, and hang around The Bahamas more,” he added. “That’s what we’re hoping. I don’t think we’re going to be as good as last year, I can tell you that. We’re waiting for them to come back for March.

“There’s room to change in policies and procedures on our end. It would be nice if we got rid of this testing and Health Travel Visa, and back we go to business. The testing is definitely a complaint. We’re behind the times. We could have made some changes but that’s beyond us now.

“Nothing is going to be like last year because the Caribbean was closed. In 2018, they had all those Category Five storms down there, so we got a lot of business in 2019. In 2020, everything was very shaky, but when we did open boats started coming fast, and 2021 was tremendous because the Caribbean was still closed. Now the boats are going back,” Mr Maury said.

“This is what I don’t understand about politicians. They say where the boats are going to go, but the Caribbean is already beating us on occupancy. One of the previous financial secretaries said: ‘Where are they going to go?’ I said: ‘The same place where they always go’. The Caribbean gets two-thirds of the business, we get one-third, and now they’re back to the Caribbean.”

The ABM chief said the “scarcity” of COVID tests in Florida, which is The Bahamas’ core boating market, had caused a problem over the Christmas/New Year period with some boaters unable to obtain tests and the results in time to meet the then five-day pre-day travel window set by this nation.

That was subsequently narrowed to three days, which increased the challenge associated with boats and yachts being able to obtain approved Health Visas for passengers and crew - and make the crossing to The Bahamas in time - especially during rough weather.

Asked what improvements he would like to see The Bahamas make, Mr Maury said “a very clear Customs clearance process”, and a much easier way to obtain cruising permits and pay charter fees, was required.

He described the process for obtaining a charter licence, and paying the associated fees, in particular as “so disorientating right now”. Incoming boats and yachts previously had to obtain a cruising permit, then get their charter licence and pay the associated fees.

Now, Mr Maury said, in addition to these steps they have to pay a $75 transire fee, which relates to a Customs document detailing cargo onboard as well as the senders and receivers. Only once this is obtained can the charter licence, and payment of associated fees, be concluded.

The Bahamas’ private boating/yachting market, together with private aviation and Airbnb-style vacation rentals, were the first segments to rebound and lead tourism’s post-COVID recovery. Boating, especially, was seen as ideal for a socially-distanced COVID world as vessels could moor offshore or visit remoter islands.

In addition, the sector was seen as driving higher spending, higher yielding visitors to The Bahamas who spread their money around multiple Bahamian islands rather than being confined to just one resort or destination.

However, Mr Maury voiced disappointment that the $2.5m in yacht charter fees collected last year via the online portal established by the marina industry had not been “put back” into the sector’s training and development.

“One of the things we had been saying is if they [boats] have to pay charter fees, let’s have an online portal where they pay, or the broker pays, when they get money from the client,” he added. “We put that in place, and it’s working, but we didn’t get the money back.

“Most of the boats chartered in The Bahamas are Cayman or Jamaican registered. They do most of their business here, but the fees go to countries outside The Bahamas. How does that make sense?”

Arguing that the Government is too focused on mass stopover and cruise tourism, Mr Maury said the ABM and its partners have teamed up to stage a two-hour “pop-up” training session this Friday, February 12, at 12pm at Bay Street Marina to introduce Bahamians to the range of career opportunities presented by the industry.

He added that Bahamian boat captains, crew and chefs would all be present to inspire new recruits, adding that the marina/yachting rate’s growth was outpacing the labour market’s ability to supply workers. Maritime plumbers and engineers were just some of the professions the ABM chief identified as suffering from a worker shortage.

“That’s the only way to grow our industry,” Mr Maury said. “If the boats come here and can’t get everything they need in our country, they will go back to the Caribbean. It has to be a whole co-operative effort to grow the industry in our country.”