By NEIL HARTNELL

and FAY SIMMONS

A Cabinet minister yesterday signalled her opposition to Nassau Cruise Port’s plans to develop a $35m water park attraction as she urged it to “give it a rest”.

Glenys Hanna Martin, speaking in her capacity as Englerston’s MP, indicated her concerns that the new amenity will further distract cruise passengers from venturing beyond Prince George Wharf when in Nassau and thus deprive Bahamian retailers, restaurants, tour operators and straw vendors of much-needed business.

In an address that may not reflect Cabinet thinking or government policy, Mrs Hanna Martin told the House of Assembly that tourists visited a nation to enjoy its culture and unique, authentic experiences rather than a port or dock.

“The cruise port is a dock. It’s a docking facility. The port is Nassau. The port is Nassau,” she urged. “I wish to say no more. The port is Nassau. In Nassau we have our straw vendors, our taxi drivers, our entrepreneurs. We have this huge rich cultural dynamic, this expression of who we are in the port of Nassau.

“I heard some talk about some water theme park. Please, please, give it a rest. Give it a rest. Let our people come through your dock. Make your dock nice; I have no problem with that. Come into Nassau, come into Nassau. I hope they heard me on that.

“That’s the cultural reality of who we are. It is out there. This is why you come to a destination. We’re a nation, not a destination. I want to whisper that to them on this microphone: Give it a rest.” Mrs Hanna Martin declined to expand on her concerns when contacted by Tribune Business, but they represent the first signs of policymaker level unease over Nassau Cruise Port’s expansion plans.

Similar concerns were also voiced yesterday by vendors at the Straw Market over the possibility that the water park will draw cruise passengers away from leaving the port’s confines. 

Rebecca Small, president of the Straw Business Persons Society, said the plans are a major worry especially as Nassau Cruise Port recently said its promotion of the Straw Market has “hit a standstill” due to it not receiving a supply list of crafts people and artisans to market.

She said: “It’s a concern for straw vendors, especially as they recently said they are not advertising the Straw Market simply because the Straw Market Authority hasn’t reached out to them with a list of vendors, which to me doesn’t make sense.

“And now they are building this big nice water park to further keep the tourists away from the downtown area. What need would they have to come over if they get the full experience there, and then, of course, we know what the current crime situation in New Providence is right now. “

Ms Small said a vendor approached her yesterday and voiced frustrations at how hard it is to “make a dollar”, and she lamented that only a fifth are making a profit while the others are “scrapping”.

“A vendor came to me today and said it’s hard to make a dollar in this market now,” she added. “If they kept us on rotation everyone could have lived but now it’s hard for us to live. It’s 500 vendors and only 100 of them make a profit and the rest of us are scrapping.

“It’s difficult for many vendors at this present time, so you only could imagine when they have the water park that will keep the tourists. What are they coming into Nassau for? They will stay right there in the port. Of course it’s a concern. The tourists would not need to really go on the beach and into Nassau because everything would be right there.”

Ms Small added that many “foreigners” are selling souvenirs in downtown Nassau that are not “authentically Bahamian”, but straw vendors are expected to exclusively sell crafted items when straw is not a product that is easily accessible year-round.

She said: “Even down on Bay Street, all of those foreigners selling souvenirs, but they want to tell us to only sell straw, knowing straw is not a product that is sold year-round. Straw is not like that, it’s seasonal.”

Nassau Cruise Port is aiming to create a further 350 full-time jobs through its water park attraction that is targeted for completion within the next 18 months. Mike Maura, its chief executive, told Tribune Business previously that the expansion is part of a drive to provide more “family-oriented” amenities as well constantly refresh and evolve its product offering to maintain the facility as “best in class in the Caribbean”.

He reassured that the sheer volume of passenger arrivals makes it impossible for all to stay at the port. “We are the largest tourism gateway in The Bahamas given the volume of people arriving at Nassau Cruise Port,” Mr Maura said.

“Our facility is not large enough to coral 30,000 people that arrive on those ships daily. We are very much in the business of facilitating the safe distribution of visitors throughout New Providence and downtown Nassau as well.”

Confirming that the pool-based water park will be constructed behind the amphitheatre towards the western side of Nassau Cruise Port’s existing property, he added that although no construction start date has been confirmed the approval process is “well underway”. It will also feature associated food and beverage offerings.

“We’re looking at an additional investment; a pool water park investment,” Mr Maura revealed to this newspaper, “that is going to provide an experience in the downtown area at Nassau Cruise Port so people have something to do that is more recreational and family-oriented.

“A lot of the experiences these visitors can participate in are adult-oriented. Through this investment, which is a pool experience, we intend to focus on families. You take the Disney cruise ships, where the vast majority of folks are families travelling with children. We want them to have experiences that everyone can participate in and enjoy.”

Asked how much Nassau Cruise Port plans to invest in the new attraction, which follows swiftly behind its $330m redevelopment that was officially opened last year, Mr Maura replied: “The total is around $35m. We’d like to see it completed in the next year-and-a-half. We have cleared the site but have not started construction.

“It will be right behind the amphitheatre; the green space behind the amphitheatre. It will be in the shape of a finger circle. Once the project is completed, it will create 350 jobs. That’s a significant increase in the number of jobs that will be happening at Nassau Cruise Port. It will be a best-in-class experience.”

With a building permit number already obtained for the water park, Mr Maura added that it was critical for the Nassau Cruise Port and wider Bahamian tourism industry to constantly refresh and reinvigorate its product offering so as to differentiate this nation from Caribbean and global competitors and give visitors something new on which to spend their money.

“We have to get our approvals,” the Nassau Cruise Port chief confirmed. “The process is well underway. We have the permit number for the project. It’s going through the final approval process.

“With Nassau Cruise Port and tourism in general, tourism is dynamic. The world doesn’t stand still. Offerings don’t stand still. The authenticity and differentiation of destinations will continue to evolve, and so must Nassau. So Nassau Cruise Port will continue to look at our product as part of the downtown destination, and we will continue to tweak and evolve to maintain best-in-class in the region.”

The cruise port’s planned water park will likely be competing for passenger traffic with the similar water-based attractions at Atlantis and Baha Mar, as well as those available to visitors on board their vessels.

Nassau Cruise Port’s expansion comes amid Royal Caribbean’s western Paradise Island site clearance in preparation for its Royal Beach Club project, which is expected to accommodate up to 2,700 persons daily.