By ANNELIA NIXON

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

Retailers and straw vendors still fear “downtown is going to die” as a result of Royal Caribbean’s Paradise Island beach club despite assurances it will generate more business for all.

The cruise line’s annual Nassau passenger volumes are forecast to increase from the current 1.8m to four million over the next two years, leading Michael Maura, Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive, to recently tell this newspaper that there will be sufficient visitor numbers for all who rely on the cruise industry for their livelihoods. And, of that four million, only one million will head to the Beach Club. 

Others, though, are not so convinced. Cincinetti Hall, owner of All Things Straw, argued that Royal Caribbean passengers will be directly transported to Paradise Island and likely only leave to return to their ship, leaving no time for shopping at downtown businesses.

“I grew up in the downtown area Straw Market, besides even being in tourism for many, many years,” Ms Hall said. “The thing is, with that, persons are literally going to go directly from the cruise port on to that island.

“They shut down at a certain time, which is normally the timeframe that the tourist is going to be preparing to head back to the ship, prepare for captain’s dinners, so on, so forth. Downtown is going to die. That’s a fact.

“They’re going directly from the cruise, and they’re on that island, and they’re paying to be there. So, of course they’re going to take advantage of being there all day. They’re not going to leave that island to say, head back into town to go look for souvenirs, which is at every port that they are going to stop. So downtown will for sure suffer.”

Ms Hall said cruise passengers do not make as big a contribution to the Bahamian economy as land-based visitors. “And, you know, cruise ship passengers are looking for $10 and $15 gifts,” she added. “To be honest with you, the average cruise ship passenger, they don’t pour into the economy. They don’t spend unless they get two for $10 key chains maybe.

“Downtown is going to suffer because there’s nothing being channelled through the downtown area in reference to transit there. It’s going directly from the cruise port. That alone was a red flag... And it’s not like the taxi drivers are getting the funds. They literally do ferry boats; their own ferry boats. So it’s not even the ferry boat guys or other other ferry boat vendors or so on. So that’s a no brainer. Downtown is going to feel it.”

Soon to make her move into the downtown Nassau area, Ms Hall said she has established customers and will not have to rely solely on cruise ship passengers. “The thing about me is I do online marketing, and I have my clientele,” Ms Hall said. “I do what I have to do, but downtown is going to feel it for sure because the persons go directly there.

“Even in the cruise port... Persons there are channel travelling just to get to the beach, or just to get to Long Wharf or Arawak Cay, or wherever they’re headed, and that’s it - to their excursion, so on so forth. That’s like persons going Blue Lagoon, same thing. They head to these destinations or these excursions. When they get back, they go straight back on to the cruise and prepare for dinner.

“I have a lot of locals as well as expats that patronise my business. Then I also have guests visiting from out of town, whether it be they’re staying at Baha Mar, at Atlantis, they tend to visit our shop. So our shop is going to be accessible to everyone by being at that location…”

Deidre Palacious, a vendor at the downtown Straw Market, said there has already been a significant slow down in the number of tourists shopping. She said vendors who sell authentic and hand-made items are seeing less sales because tourists lately have been purchasing more imported items.

“All I can say, I guess, is we have an impact now because of all the other souveniur stores that are open downtown,” Ms Palacious said. “So it’s impacting us a lot now. And the, they’re taking the tourists off the boats, and they are taking them on excursion tours.

“And when they bring them back, it’s time for them to be on the boat. So they don’t even have time to shop, some of them. And it depends on what you’re selling. I’m selling authentic straw. Most of my stuff on my booth is hand-mad, and a little souveniur here and there from nowhere.

“A lot of the tourists are buying more of the things that are being brought in. So, the persons who really doing the straw work are more affected than those who adding other stuff and selling it to make money. I mean, they have to pay the bills, but I’m just one of those who wants to stick to being original,” she added. 

“You’ll have some tourists, depending on what you bring in, persons from different countries, some of them are looking for different and some are looking for the things that they can get from the other countries where they visit on the boat.

“So it’s affecting me and others who selling straw, and I’m sure it’s affecting other persons. But people selling the clothes and the bags that are not made here and stuff like that, they are selling more than the authentic things that are made here.”

Ms Palacious suggested the cruise ships promote the Bay Street Straw Market more in order to drive more foot traffic into the downtown area. “I feel they need to promote the straw market on the cruise ship more, because a lot of persons, they march straight down to Junkanoo Beach,” she said. “So they are making the money. So they promote Junkanoo Beach.

“So any given day you pass, you’ll see the tourist just marching. I know they have to go to the beach. But, they always ask: ‘Where’s Junkanoo Beach?’ So it’s like they’re promoting more of the beach than the market.

“And then, two, our straw market is hot. We don’t have blowers and coolers, and so when the tourists come in, they get hot. And some be frustrated and feel faint, and they just want to get out. So all that could contribute to them not being in the market, taking their time to shop.”