By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Nassau Cruise Port’s top executive yesterday said he can “guarantee” passenger numbers for the past three days have surpassed prior years to show there has been “zero” impact from recent crime concerns.

Michael Maura, the Prince George Wharf operator’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that while cruise port employees have had to reassure a small minority of visitors that Nassau remains safe following international media coverage of the recent murder spike there has been “no mass or overwhelming concern” expressed.

And, responding to assertions by Wesley Ferguson, the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union’s president, that drivers have suffered an up to 50 percent reduction in earnings due to the crime reporting fall-out, he suggested this may have also been influenced by the loss of passengers from three cruise ship cancellations due to bad weather in early February.

“An observation from where I sit, but I think it was during the first week in February that the weather was really bad,” Mr Maura said. “If I’m not mistaken, we had three vessels cancel that week principally for it being too rough and too windy. I suspect that directly impacted the taxi business, the tour business and general visitation because the people who would have been coming would not have been here.

“Today [Monday], we have 21,085 passengers. Yesterday, we had 15,675, and on Saturday we had 21,139. I use that as a reference point to say that the people are coming into Nassau on the ships. If you are walking around the port, and up and down Woodes Rogers, you see evidence of those 20,000-plus people enjoying the downtown area.....

“I guarantee those [numbers] are higher than in previous years. For two of the last three days, where we had over 20,000 passengers, that would not have occurred in 2019. The bookings remain strong. We haven’t seen any cancellations as a result of these matters. Zero,” the Nassau Cruise Port chief continued.

“The only dip we experienced was the first week of February when the weather was poor. Nassau gets the largest ships in the world, and when you have 30-plus know winds it creates a difficulty for those ships to get in and out of the harbour. I have not received any phone calls from the cruise lines sharing concerns. We’re good. We’re fine.”

Voicing optimism that Nassau Cruise Port staff have successfully allayed any crime-related fears from a small minority of visitors, Mr Maura added: “Are there some that, over the past couple of weeks, have asked whether it is safe because they’ve read the various publications on alerts coming from the US and Canada? There have been, but we explain that Nassau is safe.

“It’s not like the only thing we’re doing out there. A month ago we wouldn’t have had any, and in the last couple of weeks we’ve had a few, but I don’t want it to appear that there is mass, overwhelming concern on the part of visitors. We’ve had a few ask the question.”

Mr Maura reiterated that Nassau Cruise Port has enjoyed “very strong numbers the last few days”, and added: “On Thursday we have five ships again. We are getting strong traffic. It remains very busy, and the courtyard where the taxi drivers operate from is very busy. We have tours picking up passengers.”

Arguing that the US and Canadian alerts “should not imply that Nassau is unsafe”, he added: “We have had some very unfortunate incidents, but Nassau, the island of New Providence, is safe. You, I and the other 300,000 who live here for the most part can go about business without fear or concern of some type of criminal activity. It is safe.”

The Bahamas’ has not been downgraded by the US as the latter’s travel advisory has remained at ‘level two’ since 2022. Instead, the US merely urged its citizens to take care - and be aware of - the recent spike in murders in New Providence with the 25th and latest killing taking place yesterday.

However, this has received extensive media coverage in New York and the north-east, which is the primary tourist source market for this nation, as well as across the US with much of the reporting giving the impression - described by Mr Sands as a “misinterpretation” - that the travel advisory has been elevated.

It has featured on major TV networks, such as NBC, ABC and CNN, as well as in newspapers including the New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today. The New York Post told Americans to “think twice about a tropical getaway to the Caribbean this winter”, adding: “Safety concerns have reached a point of severity where US officials say people shouldn’t even try to ‘physically resist’ being robbed.”