By Neil Hartnell

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The suspension of electronic processing for extended tourist stays in The Bahamas “just adds to the pain” for visiting boaters and local marinas, the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) chief asserted yesterday.

Peter Maury, the ABM president, told Tribune Business that the move unveiled yesterday “is going to add to the inconvenience” for boaters and yachters as they will now seemingly have to visit Immigration offices in-person to extend their stays and economic impact in The Bahamas.

He added that this has occurred in a climate where visiting boats and charters were already struggling to be admitted to The Bahamas for more than 30 days despite previous pronouncements by Chester Cooper, deputy prime minster and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, that the $200 non-refundable fee for the processing of visitor ‘stay’ extensions did not apply to the sector.

The Department of Immigration, in an e-mailed notice, said: “Please be advised that the electronic visitor’s extension service has been suspended. For this, or other services, please visit our offices in New Providence and the Family Islands.” No explanation was given for the suspension or when it would be lifted.

In response, Mr Maury said: “To be honest, it’s the same old story. It’s going to make it more difficult but our numbers are already down. It just adds to the pain for sure. It’s like the SeaZPass portal. We wanted boaters to pay their fees online, and they [the Government] said come back in and give us cash.

“Of course it’s going go add to the inconvenience, but we’ve already seen a big loss in occupancy. At the rate this is going, we were already having problems with boats getting more than 30 days anyway.” Mr Cooper last November had sought to clarify that the $200 non-refundable fee that must be paid so that non-Bahamians can extend their stay in this nation applied only to long-term work permit holders - not tourists.

“Firstly, there is misinformation on this issue. I have spoken with the minister responsible for Immigration, and the director for Immigration, and they have released a clarifying memorandum for all Immigration officers across the country that this doesn’t apply to tourists,” he said then.

“This does not apply to home owners, this does not apply to cruising permits. This was designed really for the renewal of work permits, long-term work permits in particular. So we must be sure that we get the understanding out that this is not an impediment for short-term stays, this is not an impediment for tourists in any way; cruising and stopovers; that this applies only to long-term work permit applications.”

However, separate and apart from the fee, several sources also informed this newspaper at the time that “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”.

Mr Maury confirmed this misalignment between length of stay and cruising permit continues to cause the sector problems. “If a boat is coming in for 90 days, Immigration officers are stamping it for 30 days,” he added. “At the port of entry they are making it 30 days. I’ve had lots of complaints that people have to get a renewal. They are only giving 30 days if a boat is coming for 90 days.

“He [Mr Cooper] has no control over what Immigration officers do. That’s the feedback we get. They say this thing and how it’s supposed to be, but that is not how things work here. This is the reality and what happens.”

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, explicitly stating that it would impact tourism.

Again pointing to the reduced business being experienced by Bahamian marinas, Mr Maury added: “It’s winter time. Typically the boats in the US north-east and Mediterranean cannot be there, and they come to the Caribbean and The Bahamas.

“Lately Saudi Arabia and Dubai have been making a big pitch to get them into those areas, and we have other jurisdictions like Colombia, Puerto Rico coming on stream and opening up new marinas. It gives people a reason to go somewhere else. To me, it doesn’t seem like it makes any sense.

“We’ve had meetings with the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Finance, and brought up the economic impact and we didn’t get any changes. I don’t understand it myself. It’s very difficult.”

Mr Maury on Monday said this week’s annual Bahamas Charter Yacht Show, which is scheduled to run from today to February 2, has been impacted by the fall-out with the number of vessels on display forecast to be down by 37 percent year-over-year while there could be an up to 80-strong decline in visiting brokers - a reversal of the consistent annual growth seen in previous years.

Reiterating that the rest of the Caribbean is benefiting from the struggles now being endured by Bahamian marinas, Mr Maury also told this newspaper that marina occupancies in the southern Bahamas have fallen by as much as 60 percent while those for the central Bahamas - including New Providence - are off by an average 30 percent.

He added that some marinas, including larger ones, had been forced to discount rates and prices in a bid to attract business since the 2024 second quarter ended, and suggested: “I guess we have to get to rock bottom before anyone does anything.