JohnDoe, I would focus more on the cruise industry. A hotel must by nature hire Bahamian employees, with workers able to organize if they wish, and be possibly built by local workers, while none of a cruise ships on board revenue ever hits the Bahamas. They even make their own electricity and pay no gaming tax!
You are right, SP, gov needs to focus on bottom line tourist spend not numbers of "cruise arrivals". Gov seems off to a great start here, now we just need the right policies to steer the #1 industry towards visitors who stay in over night hotels and AWAY from $60 per person day visitors from cruise ships.
SP - once everyone knows the days of visitors being able to see the Bahamas and spend nothing on its economy are over, they will eventually invest in land based products. Certainly targeted loans to new and diversified "things to do" is an idea. Why not a world class "museum of the Bahamas/Caribbean" in Nassau?! Caribbean Art Museum?!
When is everyone going to figure out the "blacklists" will never stop? You give into one, another appears... Its a treadmill you can never get off. So why start in the first place?
Never ceases to amaze me how it seems taken as granted tourism by cruiseship is "good" when by definition it must canibalize hotel based stays to exist.
So we pay for the privallege of having a tourist pay $80 into the economy rather than $1000-$2000 if they are a hotel visitor.
And we wonder why things don't work out?!
Allowing foreign owned cruise ships means all decisions regarding visits and what level of Bahamian economic involvement (if any) makes them the new colonial master. Any benefit you could see, could be made zero at any time, as the ships can sail anywhere!
Good point. The only solution is to kick the cruise industry in its entirety out of the Bahamas. Then all tourism will be on land and in hotels. If tourists want to see the Bahamas they must play by Bahamas rules.
With what happened to our neighbours in PR and Dominica and in Bahama islands the past couple of years its safe to say the atmosphere can handle no more CO2 so all oil licenses must be cancelled forthwith, and should probably never have been issued in the first place given failure to meet carbon targets around the world.
So surprising to hear this given the endless of amount of effort to keep off of blacklists. Could it be that such efforts were pointless as there was no guarantee the Bahamas would have any set level of access even if it met every single blacklist "demand" ever made to it!
concerned799 says...
JohnDoe, I would focus more on the cruise industry. A hotel must by nature hire Bahamian employees, with workers able to organize if they wish, and be possibly built by local workers, while none of a cruise ships on board revenue ever hits the Bahamas. They even make their own electricity and pay no gaming tax!
On Tourism minister ends deals that 'screwed the Bahamas'
Posted 31 December 2017, 5:30 p.m. Suggest removal
concerned799 says...
You are right, SP, gov needs to focus on bottom line tourist spend not numbers of "cruise arrivals". Gov seems off to a great start here, now we just need the right policies to steer the #1 industry towards visitors who stay in over night hotels and AWAY from $60 per person day visitors from cruise ships.
SP - once everyone knows the days of visitors being able to see the Bahamas and spend nothing on its economy are over, they will eventually invest in land based products. Certainly targeted loans to new and diversified "things to do" is an idea. Why not a world class "museum of the Bahamas/Caribbean" in Nassau?! Caribbean Art Museum?!
On Tourism minister ends deals that 'screwed the Bahamas'
Posted 29 December 2017, 11:21 p.m. Suggest removal
concerned799 says...
When is everyone going to figure out the "blacklists" will never stop? You give into one, another appears... Its a treadmill you can never get off. So why start in the first place?
On Income-type tax ‘likely inevitable’, warns ex-minister
Posted 11 December 2017, 4:23 p.m. Suggest removal
concerned799 says...
Never ceases to amaze me how it seems taken as granted tourism by cruiseship is "good" when by definition it must canibalize hotel based stays to exist.
So we pay for the privallege of having a tourist pay $80 into the economy rather than $1000-$2000 if they are a hotel visitor.
And we wonder why things don't work out?!
Allowing foreign owned cruise ships means all decisions regarding visits and what level of Bahamian economic involvement (if any) makes them the new colonial master. Any benefit you could see, could be made zero at any time, as the ships can sail anywhere!
On Port of Nassau needs 'over $100m infusion'
Posted 11 November 2017, 4:33 p.m. Suggest removal
concerned799 says...
Does the OECD run the Bahamas or do Bahamians?
It should be clear to all, that the blacklisting will never stop. It doesn't matter how many past demands you comply with!
On ‘Low level’ corporation tax studied
Posted 3 November 2017, 3:05 p.m. Suggest removal
concerned799 says...
How much further would the Bahamas have been if in 2000 BEC and the Bank of the Bahamas were sold off and privatized?
On Gov't pays '3x' value of BOB's toxic loans
Posted 1 November 2017, 1:20 p.m. Suggest removal
concerned799 says...
Good point. The only solution is to kick the cruise industry in its entirety out of the Bahamas. Then all tourism will be on land and in hotels. If tourists want to see the Bahamas they must play by Bahamas rules.
On Cruise ship workers say they are being pushed out
Posted 31 October 2017, 2:26 p.m. Suggest removal
concerned799 says...
The first step might be to realize the publicly owned model for BPL is not working out so well for the Bahamas as a whole. (this is an understatement)
Rather than bring in PowerSecure BEC should have been sold off 100%. Just think how further ahead we'd be by now!
On BPL bosses vow: We can deliver
Posted 19 October 2017, 1:49 p.m. Suggest removal
concerned799 says...
With what happened to our neighbours in PR and Dominica and in Bahama islands the past couple of years its safe to say the atmosphere can handle no more CO2 so all oil licenses must be cancelled forthwith, and should probably never have been issued in the first place given failure to meet carbon targets around the world.
On Oil explorer's boost for 'faster' farm-in partner conclusion
Posted 3 October 2017, 5:03 p.m. Suggest removal
concerned799 says...
So surprising to hear this given the endless of amount of effort to keep off of blacklists. Could it be that such efforts were pointless as there was no guarantee the Bahamas would have any set level of access even if it met every single blacklist "demand" ever made to it!
On Governor: 'Great concern' remains over bank access
Posted 3 October 2017, 4:58 p.m. Suggest removal