By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net 

An Abaco resort and marina owner says said the long-term impact from the new and increased boating industry fees “remains to be seen”.

Molly McIntosh, the Bluff House Beach Resort and Marina’s proprietor, said the impact of the increased cruising permit fees, as well as the new anchorage and fishing permit fees, has yet to be fully felt as many summer visitors booked their trips prior to the 2025-2026 Budget’s implementation.

Speaking to Tribune Business, Ms McIntosh said she agrees that Bahamian marinas are doing “very well”, as pointed out by financial secretary, Simon Wilson, last week. But concerns remain over the industry’s continued success due to the changes.

“He’s correct in that our marina did very, very well this year. But, of course, the fees came into effect July 1. Most people had already made their plans, and were already over here, so I’m not really sure how it’s going to affect us going forward,” said Ms McIntosh.

“In July, when it came out, people had already made their plans. They weren’t going to stop and change plans. Now, when they go to plan for their next summer vacation, are they going to skip us because they feel that they were cheated or mistreated or not appreciated? Is that going to change their plans for next summer? What is it going to do to the slow season?

“Most of the people in the summer are the wealthier, bigger boats. It remains to be seen what effect it’s going to have for the rest of the year and for next year.” Ms McIntosh said that while the industry understands the reasons for increasing fees, they could have been implemented over time so visitors would not be deterred from visiting the destination.

Highlighting the new anchorage fee, she explained that many boaters are “pretty irate” about paying a fee to anchor when they are docking at a marina. “We understand that the fees have to go up, but the way it was implemented could have been done in a better fashion, maybe more slowly,” said Ms McIntosh.

“I think it will affect our business. We’ve had a couple cancellations, and when the people call they’re usually pretty irate if they’re cancelling because of the fees. It seems like the anchorage fee seems to make everybody the maddest that I’ve been talking to.

“They’re like, ‘I’m not anchoring. I’m staying in the marina, why am I paying an anchorage fee?’ And it’s been made really clear that everybody’s going to pay that anchorage fee. I don’t think there’s any way getting around that but there’s ways to do things where you don’t get people’s feathers ruffled up quite so much.”

Ms McIntosh said increased fees are a necessary part of ensuring the environment is protected for future generations, and voiced hope that the funds generated will be used on sustainability initiatives and improving the equipment and staffing of water patrols throughout The Bahamas.

“I understand that part of the reason for the increases is to try and save our resources, and to not have quite the pull on our resources that we are seeing with the bigger numbers of people coming in. There are more people taking fish, lobster, conch. It’s harder on the sustainability of what is building and driving our economy,” said Ms McIntosh

“Everything costs more now. The water has to be policed, either using drones, which costs more money, or having the Defence Force out there in larger numbers. That all costs money, and it has to be paid for somehow. And these fees will hopefully will help to make to upgrades to our systems and make things better.

“If we could see what was going to happen, and point that out to people and show it is being used... This is what was done in Abaco. This is what was done in Exuma. This is how they’re helping to educate people and enforce the regulations. But you don’t hear any that. They just say the fees are up and that’s it. If you don’t like it, go somewhere else.”