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Airlift concerns on Lucayan's re-open

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Grand Bahama businesses yesterday identified the island's lack of airlift as a major obstacle to the Government's plans to re-open the Grand Lucayan resort on March 25.

Alfredo Bridgewater, owner/operator of Coco Nutz, said: “The Grand Lucayan reopening is great news, but how will passengers be coming? We have very little airlift. I hope there is a plan along with the Government acquiring the airport. I personally feel like certain things should be held by the Government, like our airports and seaports, because there may be times where it won't be about profit.”

Voicing hope that Grand Bahama International Airport (GBIA) under government ownership will be more sensitive to Grand Bahama's residents and economy, Mr Bridgewater said he had enjoyed higher customer volumes when the Canada-based tourism operator, Sunwing, and its Memories brand operated one of the Grand Lucayan properties prior to their late 2016 departure.

“Memories was a better resource for my guests. The Grand Lucayan was maybe 10 percent of my business, but if that is 100 percent of the pie now then it will probably be 80 percent of my business," he added.

The Government has said it is "very close" to purchasing Grand Bahama International Airport. The facility suffered significant damage after Hurricane Dorian ripped through the island, leaving it in a largely inoperable state with the current owners, the Grand Bahama Port Authority and Hutchison Port Holdings, not showing any = interest in repairing it to fully functioning standards.

James Rolle, Dolly Madison Home Centre's general manager, said of the Grand Lucayan re-opening: “Any boost to the general economy is going to be a boost for business somehow, somewhere, because you would have more people who would have disposable funds to shop. It’s a domino effect.”

While Grand Bahama boasts of being the industrial centre of The Bahamas, and does not particularly focus on the tourism economy, Mr Rolle said any increase in economic activity will be welcome.

He added: “We don’t totally depend on the Grand Lucayan, but it adds to the mix of the economy. Because right now, I think Freeport is surviving without any major injection from the tourism sector."

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