By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian marinas were “nailed” by the Immigration Department’s sudden imposition of a $200 fee for tourists seeking to extend their stay in this nation despite the measure being unveiled in the Budget.

Peter Maury, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) president, told Tribune Business that the sector and its clients were blindsided by the September 18, 2024, implementation of a $200 non-refundable processing fee for all visitors applying to extend their stay in this country beyond the time for which they were originally admitted.

Describing the move as “anti-tourism”, on the basis that the fee effectively penalises visitors for staying in The Bahamas longer and spending more money in local communities, he argued that it had compounded boating/yachting perceptions that the country is becoming cost “prohibitive” following the recent imposition of higher yacht charter levies and other increased taxes and fees.

Mr Maury told this newspaper that the September 18 implementation, which was accompanied by little to no warning, had undermined ABM, industry and Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation efforts to attract high-end boats and yachts to The Bahamas and away from the Mediterranean through their attendance one week later at the Monaco Boat Show.

However, the ABM chief admitted he was “unaware” that Prime Minister Philip Davis KC had warned the measure was coming when he unveiled the 2024-2025 Budget at the end of May.  “The Immigration Department will also implement a Visitors Stay extension application fee of $200. This will cover the costs of issuing a visitors’ card,” Mr Davis explained.

Alfred Sears KC, minister of Immigration and national insurance, could not be reached for comment before press time last night and also did not respond to messages. However, it is standard practice for the Immigration Department to charge a non-refundable processing fee - whether $200 or another sum - to cover the costs, and recover the expense, associated with various permit application types.

And The Bahamas, like all sovereign states, has the right to at all times regulate and manage its borders, determine who is within its territory and decide how long it will permit them to stay. And the $200 one-time fee, in and of itself, is hardly a huge sum for visiting tourists and boat crews to pay if they decide to extend their stay and original cruising permit.

However, Mr Maury said the new $200 fee has added “inconvenience” to the process as the Immigration flyer confirming its September 18, 2024, introduction appears to require all applicants to now “book an appointment” via the Department’s website and physically attend in person to obtain the extension of stay. This also has to be accompanied by the cruising permit, proof of payment and contact details.

The ABM chief also complained that cruising permit and visitor stay applications are often not aligned, with a vessel sometimes allowed to enter The Bahamas for three months as an example but guests and crew only given permission for 30 days.

“I didn’t know that,” Mr Maury said of the Prime Minister’s foreshadowing of the fee’s imposition in the Budget. “I wasn’t aware of it and none of the marina operators were either. We weren’t aware of it. Not a lot of us read all that stuff. How many Bahamians sit down and listen to the Budget? It’s still a pain and it’s anti-tourism as far as I’m concerned.”

Signalling that communications from the Government could have been better, Mr Maury said he only received notification from the Immigration Department just before he flew out to Monaco. He added that the seeming lack of notice had not only upset boating clients but left marinas unable to warn them of, and prepare them, for the change. 

Acknowledging initial confusion over whether the $200 was “per person” or “per boat”, with Immigration officers in different islands giving different interpretations, he added that marinas were informing boats and yachts that it is now the former. Instead of Immigration officers coming to extend visitor stays at the marina when boats arrive, their occupants now have to physically visit the Department.

“If you want to stay in The Bahamas longer as a visitor you have to now pay to do that,” Mr Maury said. “Before, we wanted the tourists to stay and extend their visit and spend money in the country. Now they are penalising you for doing that. If we’re trying to get the boats to stay longer and spend more money, it’s the exact opposite of what tourism is based on.

“I went to Monaco on September 25. We had a Bahamas booth at the show. One of the reasons we go to Monaco is because the weather is getting bad and they leave the Mediterranean and come to the Caribbean. We’re trying to get them to come to The Bahamas because The Bahamas is closer.

“Of course, they put this [fee announcement] out. We got nailed. People were coming to our booth and they’re like: ‘You guys went up on charter fees, you went up on taxes and now this?’ I can tell you that, in Monaco, The Bahamas was off the menu. A lot of the Europeans were like: ‘I can’t come there any more. Prices are better in the Caribbean’,” the ABM president added.

“I had captains I’ve known for a very long time, and one particular yacht that used to come here all the time, helped out with Dorian and did a lot for this country, was like: ‘I’m never coming back there now. I just don’t understand it. Most of us come there and don’t mind spending money, but to be taxed for it and treated the way we are, we’re not going to do that’.”

Mr Maury said the concern was not the $200 fee’s implementation by itself but, rather, the lack of warning and consultation with industry and the compounding effect created by previous fee and tax hikes. “Everybody’s saying the same thing,” he added. “The Bahamas is becoming prohibitive.

“Our fuel has gone up, our groceries are high, taxes are out of control and the whole process just to stay and spend more money in The Bahamas.. To go to the Family Islands and spend more money in the communities, you now have to come back to Nassau or go to the island administrator and get this stamped and that stamped.

“We’re making it so expensive that they don’t want to come here. It’s insane. It’s just insane. It’s the inconvenience of it. I know these guys say rich people can afford it, but I don’t understand that. Nobody wants to throw their money away. It’s an excuse for grinding the business to a halt,” Mr Maury continued. “No rich person throws money away.

“There was definitely no warning [from Immigration]. They put it out and we were all shocked. All the marina operators talk, and we were like ‘when did this come out’ and ‘when did this take place’. We were all shocked. It was implemented the day before we found out about it.”

Another source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said some of the initial confusion and uncertainty around the $200 visitor visitor extension fee has now been resolved. However, they added: “There seems to be an unwritten, informal but active policy of some Immigration officers of limiting the length of stay when they first come in to 30 days. Cruising permits are for three months or a year.”