By Neil Hartnell

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Airlift disruption from the US government shutdown is merely the latest challenge for a Bahamian tourism industry suffering “death by a thousand cuts”, a senior hotelier warned yesterday, as he urged the country to “take a hard look 20 years out”.

Emanuel “Manny” Alexiou, the Bahama Out Island Promotion Board’s president, told Tribune Business this nation is “not strategically planning” for the long-term as he noted the threats posed by the ongoing boating fees “outcry” and a rapidly-expanding cruise industry that offers the same product as land-based hotels “40, 50, 60 percent cheaper”.

While the projected 10 percent cut to US aviation flights “won’t be a death blow” to Family Island resorts and tourism, as the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday does not mark their peak season, he added that “all these things add up” when it comes to the Bahamian tourism industry’s competitiveness and sustainability.

Mr Alexiou told this newspaper that, rather than converting cruise passengers into stopover visitors, The Bahamas appeared to be suffering “the reverse” with the rapid expansion of the industry’s private islands in effect giving it “control of the ports and beaches”.

Speaking out after US commercial airlines last night started to cancel flights in anticipation of today’s route cutbacks, the Promotion Board chief said: “The Out Islands are still slow. In the next few weeks coming up it’s getting busier, and Thanksgiving with second homeowners will be a bit of a problem if [the US government shutdown] is not resolved.

“I’m hoping a bit of pressure in the US will get it resolved. If it was a busy period there would be more of an impact, but right now there won’t be so much of a negative impact. It won’t be a death blow. The only good thing is that in this period it will do less harm than in a busy period.”

However, Mr Alexiou acknowledged that any longer travel and wait times in security and check-in lines, coupled with flight cancellations, will be “less conducive” to the willingness of visitors to fly to The Bahamas.

US flights and routes are being cut back, at least temporarily, due to safety and capacity concerns because fewer federal personnel - especially air traffic controllers and security staff - are working because the US government shutdown means they have not been paid in 39 days.

Up to 1,800 flights across 40 major US airports will be suspended unless the US government shutdown ends as the freezing of government funds has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents to work without pay. This has worsened staff shortages and caused widespread delays to flights and those passing through airport security.

Some 268,000 airline seats are forecast to be lost if the 10 percent cut-back goes ahead, although reports suggested international flights are not being impacted yet. Mr Alexiou, though, told Tribune Business this was only the lates challenge for a Bahamian tourism industry facing “death by a thousand cuts”.

Citing, in particular, the continued fall-out from new and increased boating fees and the cruise industry’s “ability to sell the same product as Baha Mar can sell 40 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent cheaper”. He added: “All these things add up. At this time when we need to be more careful we shouldn’t be causing harm to ourselves.

“On top of everything else, we were at the [Fort Lauderdale] Boat Show and there was a tremendous outcry about the boating fees. We said: ‘Look, the Ministry of Tourism booth is just down the corner. Make your complaints there. We’re supporting you’.”

Mr Alexiou reiterated tourism, marina and hotel concerns that the new and increased fees - including fishing permit levies and anchorage fees - had been implemented without warning and consultation via the 2025-2026 Budget.

While boaters acquiring the frequent digital cruising card (FDCC), which is valid for two years, will benefit, the Promotion Board chief warned that day trippers and those on the water infrequently during their Bahamas stay will be disadvantaged as they will have to pay for multiple fishing permits for example.

“It will affect people coming from Florida to Bimini the most,” Mr Alexiou added, noting that the boating industry is facing further headwinds from “slowed down” vessel sales. “We’re not helping by making it easy,” he told Tribune Business.

“I think The Bahamas has to take a hard look 20 years out at what it wants to be and make the plans fit that. It cannot be just that we need more money, and will get it here, get it there. Increasing taxes will do more harm down the road than decreasing them. We’re not strategically planning as a country.”

Suggesting that The Bahamas look at reducing its portion of airline ticket taxation in a bid to make air fare costs more competitive, Mr Alexiou said it also ought to re-examine the public-private partnership (PPP) model that the Government has adopted for Family Island airport redevelopment. To ensure the private partner can repay its debt, and earn a return on its investment, landing and other fees have to be kept at a certain level.

Instead, the Promotion Board president argued that the Government needs to look at extracting more taxes and fees from the cruise lines to finance these airport projects and improve the overall Bahamian tourism product.

“If we can fix Nassau up and other key areas, the product, maybe all or some of those cruise visitors will become stopovers,” Mr Alexiou added. “Right now it’s the reverse, and we’re giving them the beaches with the private islands. They have the ports and the beaches.”

Kerry Fountain, the Bahama Out Island Promotion Board’s executive director, told Tribune Business the tourism industry is “very concerned” by the prospect of reduced US air travel and is “monitoring” the situation.

The Thanksgiving holiday, which traditionally marks the start of The Bahamas’ peak winter tourism season, is now barely three weeks away and reduced airlift connectivity could cost tourism considerable business, especially for mega resorts such as Atlantis and Baha Mar, which rely heavily on commercial airlines.

Mr Fountain, while conceding that this is outside The Bahamas’ control, said this nation must now seek to “take advantage of the low-hanging fruit” secured by the substantial increase in airlift from Canada to help compensate for any fall-off in visitors sparked by the shutdown.

“On the flip side, this is why we really have to give kudos to the Ministry of Tourism and also the Nassau/Paradise Island Promotion Board who have jointly been successful in securing 45 flights per week from Canada, and that’s to Nassau except for one which is Toronto to Exuma,” he added.

“It opens other opportunities for the Family Islands and Air Canada, West Jet and eventually Porter Airlines to have inter-line agreements with Bahamasair to allow same-day connection… The opportunity is Canada, low hanging fruit. Let’s take advantage of it. Control what we can control.”

Mr Fountain said Stella Maris and Cape Santa Maria, the two Long Island-based resorts, have had to delay this week’s planned winter re-opening until the end of next week as they complete their post-Hurricane Melissa clean-up.