By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board’s president yesterday branded new and increased boater fees as “a botch” that needs to “be rescinded immediately” amid ongoing visitor “uproar”.

Emanuel “Manny” Alexiou, also the Abaco Beach Resort’s proprietor, told Tribune Business the fall-out from hiked cruising permits, plus the new fishing permit and anchorage fees, was “horrid, horrid, horrid” for a Family Island tourism and marina industry that “needs more people, not less” to drive occupancy rates higher than the prevailing 50 percent average.

He voiced particular concern that The Bahamas has combined temporary cruising permit fee increases of between 67 percent and 100 percent with a two-thirds reduction in the time this is valid, cutting it from the present 90 days to the same “pleasure vessel” being allowed to enter this nation twice within 30 days, resulting in a significant value for money loss for tourists.

Other tourism officials confirmed to this newspaper that “phones are blowing up” over the outcry from visiting boaters, plus the concerns of Bahamian private sector operators whose businesses are reliant on this market, due to the fee and other reforms accompanying the 2025-2026 Budget. Mr Alexiou added that it was creating “so much bad publicity that we don’t need about The Bahamas right now”.

One veteran visitor to Bimini, who has been visiting the island for more than 45 years, warned in an e-mail sent to Tribune Business that his regular trips “are over” due to “the recent spike in fees across the board”, which he argued “feels not only excessive, but punitive” and almost akin to being “gouged”.

Jorge Recarey, in an open letter to Ministry of Tourism and Customs officials, said: “I’m writing to express my deep concern over the recent changes in boating and fishing regulations in The Bahamas - particularly the dramatic increase in fees that now make it increasingly difficult and frustrating for visitors to return.

“I have been travelling to Bimini since the late 1970s. What began as a family tradition turned into a lifelong connection to the island - one strong enough that I eventually purchased a condo there and became a part of the local community.

“Over the decades, I’ve spent countless weekends and holidays supporting the island’s businesses, paying Customs and fishing fees, fuelling up, dining out, and bringing friends and family to experience the beauty of Bimini. But unfortunately, those days are over.”

He continued: “The recent spike in fees across the board, from Customs to fishing permits to every day services - feels not only excessive, but punitive. It sends a message that long-time supporters of the island are no longer welcome unless they are willing to be gouged. As a result, I’ve decided to stop travelling to Bimini and have put my condo up for sale.

“And I’m not alone. Many of my fellow neighbours and boaters are actively looking for ways to exit the island and avoid what we see as an abusive and increasingly hostile environment for visitors. Bimini was once a welcoming escape - close, beautiful and full of character. But the current trajectory is unsustainable, and it’s alienating the very people who helped sustain your tourism economy for decades.

“Unless there’s a meaningful reassessment of these policies, I fear The Bahamas will continue to lose not just tourists but generations of loyal visitors like myself.” Other external criticisms were just as blunt.

Bob Lorns, managing editor of the Caribbean Observer, asserting in an online posting that The Bahamas’ cruising permit fees are now double those of its nearest global competitor, wrote: “In an astonishing display of economic short-sightedness, the Bahamian government has introduced what are now the highest yacht cruising and anchoring fees on Earth.

“As of July 1, 2025, fees will range between $500 (for the smallest of vessels) to $1,000 annually for cruising permits, and $3,000 to $8,000 for Frequent Digital Cruising Cards (FDCC) with a two-year validity — plus anchoring fees that range from $250 to $1,500 per year.” This, he argued, compared to the $100 to $500 fees charged by rival jurisdictions in the Caribbean and elsewhere for the same permit.

Pointing out that budget-conscious boaters and yachters will simply switch from the Bahamas to other jurisdictions, Mr Lorns argued that this nation was pricing itself out of the market and slashing the number of persons who will visit this nation and spend money in its economy.

“Competitors across the globe are taking advantage of the Bahamas’ misstep,” he wrote. “Their leaders are silently laughing at The Bahamas, and salivating as they prepare for the growth in their own GDPs as The Bahamas begins to hemorrhage tourists.

“From Antigua to Fiji, countries are welcoming cruisers with open arms and affordable entry. They are securing long-term economic benefits and building goodwill while The Bahamas alienates the very people who once kept its out islands alive with activity and income.....

“There is still time to reverse course. The Government can lower the fees, streamline clearance procedures and rebuild trust with the global yachting community. But if they do not, they are not just chasing boats away — they are strangling the throat of their own maritime economy, and in turn, stopping the heart that pumps the economic lifeblood to their own citizens.”

The boating community uproar was sparked by the revised Customs Management (Amendment) Regulations 2025. A vessel that is 34 feet or less will have to pay $500 “for a period not exceeding 12 months”, while the temporary cruising permit fees for vessels greater than 34 feet and less than 100 feet, and over 100 feet, are being set at $1,000 and $3,000, respectively for the same period. 

The current cruising permit for a vessel less than 34 feet in length is $300, so that is set to increase by two-thirds or 67 percent come July 1, 2025, while the present $500 levy for boats between 34 feet to 100 feet is now about to double.

The temporary cruising permit will allow a “pleasure vessel” to enter The Bahamas’ twice within 30 days. And, if a pleasure vessel carries more than three passengers, every additional one above the age of six - and who is a non-resident of The Bahamas - will be subject to a $30 per head tax under the Passenger Tax.

The Government, in splitting out the fishing permit fee into a separate levy, and not incorporating it with the cruise permit fee, has set this at $100 and $300 for vessels not exceeding, and exceeding, 34 feet respectively.

Finally, the new anchorage fees for vessels not mooring at a marina are pegged at $200 for a vessel not exceeding 34 feet; $350 for those between 34 feet and 100 feet; and $1,500 for those over 100 feet.

Boating industry contacts spoken to by Tribune Business said that, while not opposed to ensuring that visiting boats and yachts pay their fair share in taxes, any increases in fees/levies must be reasonable and proportionate in scale, with the industry properly consulted in advance and informed of changes in sufficient time so that they can adjust. 

Mr Alexiou, noting that many Americans “hate paying taxes”, told Tribune Business that boating visitors are unlikely to perceive they are getting anything in return for their money such as improved navigational aids.

He added that the minimum $500 cruising what also be seen as a deterrent to “spontaneous” trips to The Bahamas, as boaters were being charged before they arrived and spent money in this nation, and suggested a smaller increase would have been easier for visitors to swallow.

“The cost of living has been going up 5 percent, 10 percent, which people have not been saying anything about, but a 100 percent increase only for 30 days?” the Promotion Board chief asked. “You reduced it from 90 days. The timeline has changed.... Before it was 90 days. At least in three months you could come in once, twice on the same permit.”

Noting that it was difficult for many boaters to make regular back-and-forth trips to The Bahamas, Mr Alexiou added: “It’s going to hurt all of us ultimately because it’s more expensive to come to our country.... All around it’s a botch. It gives so much bad publicity for The Bahamas.”

He explained that, besides marinas, restaurants, food stores, boating services providers, mechanics and cleaners will be among the sectors experiencing reduced business if boating visitors contract as a result of the fee hikes. And, if this occurs, it will also dent the Bahamian economy’s foreign currency earning capacity.

“The Ministry of Tourism should be at the lead of this, fighting the battle, because its true objective is to earn more US dollars for The Bahamas’ economy,” Mr Alexiou explained. “I mean, I’ve never seen such an uproar.”

The Abaco Beach Resort proprietor also voiced concern about the lack of consultation, and too short a notice period and time to adjust to the changes, that has been provided by the Government to the boating community. He is especially concerned that no “transition period” has been offered to organised boat tours and visits, known as a ‘Rendezvous’, that bring multiple vessels at a time to this nation.

These, Mr Alexiou explained, are often booked in advance - sometimes as much as a year out - and “come July whose going to pay the bill” and cover the increased fees. This, he added, will likely fall on the organisers who, due to the financial impact, may elect to take their business to another jurisdiction next year.

Mr Alexiou added that such organised boater tours are vital to “introduce people to The Bahamas”, as between 60-80 percent of the vessels on such trips are typically first-time visitors. They are able to learn what The Bahamas has to offer, comply with Customs and other entry procedures, and gain encouragement to come back as repeat visitors which, in turn, eases the demand for marketing dollars.

Asked what The Bahamas must do now, given the extent of the boater pushback, Mr Alexiou replied: “I think they need to rescind it immediately or come to their senses and push it back to 90 days; keep it the same. The Bahamas, we need more people coming, not to make it more difficult.....

“It’s horrid, horrid, horrid. We need a good season. The truth about the industry, other than Club Med and Four Seasons [Sandals Emerald Bay], our occupancies are still under 50 percent in rooms and marinas. We need more people, not less. We are making some money; we’re not making the money we should, and it’s hard to go go back and borrow to make investments because not enough’s there.

“People say we did well. We used the insurance money [from Hurricane Dorian] and the product’s been good, but it will get run down if we don’t put money back into it. We need money to make a profit and expand the product. We have to reinvest in the product to grow. The burden always falls on the properties here; the people that employ Bahamians.”