By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Ministry of Tourism executive yesterday urged The Bahamas to “lobby in earnest” for the entire island of San Salvador to be designated a UN World Heritage Site, adding that this typically boosted business volumes by 8-15 percent.

Jermaine Johnson, senior executive with the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation’s San Salvador tourism office, told the Cat Island Business Outlook conference that the island was a natural for the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) title because of its deep history and heritage as well as rare wildlife and five national parks.

Besides being the location where Christopher Columbus first set foot in the western hemisphere on October 14, 1492, he added that San Salvador was also the headquarters for the renowned pirate, John Watling. And the island also boasts the Dixon Hill Lighthouse which, along with its counterpart in Abaco, is one of the last two manual kerosene-operated lighthouses in the world.

The former Crown loyalist Farquharson Plantation, and the history of the Lucayan/Guanahani Indians in The Bahamas, also provide “great selling points in terms of history and heritage”. Mr Johnson argued: “San Salvador can become, and should be, a World Heritage site. Holding this prestigious title will boost tourism. The Bahamas should begin in earnest to lobby for this designation.”

He added that tourism numbers typically increase by between 8 to 15 percent when a location is labelled a UNESCO World Heritage site, and said San Salvador was well-placed to exploit niches such as eco-tourism due to the presence of multiple rate and endangered species - especially birds - on the island.

The steep ‘drop-off’ in ocean depth close to the island also made it attractive for deep-sea fishing and diving, Mr Johnson added, describing these experiences as “second to none” and existing all year-round rather than merely being seasonal. San Salvador, he said, had previously been ranked as the world’s third best dive location by both Dive and Scuba magazines.

Mr Johnson described San Salvador as having “been holding its own” in the tourism industry for the last 15 years, averaging around 15,000 visitors per annum COVID excepted. However, Club Med’s two-year closure, with its re-opening set to occur in October 2022, had driven home the need for the island to reduce its reliance on the so-called ‘anchor’ resort.

“There needs to be a decrease in dependency,” he acknowledged. “We’re excited about Club Med’s return, but increasing the number of guests outside Club Med will be critical for situations where we’re not solely dependent on one major resort. We’ve seen what’s happened over the last year with that property being closed, what it’s done to our economy.”

Mr Johnson said San Salvador needed two extra resort properties able to accommodate a combined 300-400 guests, while noting that it was also open to receiving smaller cruise ships - not the 3,000 passenger variety - such as those operated by now-defunct Crystal Cruises that called on the island last year.

Confirming that San Salvador faces similar airlift challenges to other Family Islands, he added: “We’ve been working with Bahamasair to find that sweet spot. It’s challenging in terms of airlift to San Salvador right now. It’s something all Family Islands face but it’s one of those things we can get over once we have guests coming in on a regular basis. One of the challenges is visitors coming in and having to overnight in Nassau, not having the ability to come in the same day.”

Mr Johnson conceded that San Salvador’s heritage and historical sites “should be better maintained, better presented” but added that the Ministry of Tourism was “working diligently” to improve the situation. “My director from last year has been pushing us to provide signage for those areas, so we’re working on that.”

Dr Kenneth Romer, the Ministry of Tourism’s deputy director-general and acting director of aviation, said it was “aggressively” seeking new airlift for Cat Island to ensure it received its “fair share”. He admitted that the ministry was “not pleased” with existing seat capacity into the island, which received just 0.1 percent of total stopover visitors to The Bahamas in 2021. San Salvador attracted just 0.2 percent market share.

The Ministry of Tourism is planning to “change the narrative” by marketing The Bahamas as a destination featuring 16 different islands, with Dr Romer noting that 70 percent of the country’s 892,977 stopover visitors in 2021 went to Nassau/Paradise Island with 26 percent heading to the Family Islands and the 4 percent balance going to Grand Bahama.