The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THERE has been “minimal” impact thus far for the Bahamas’ international tourism reputation over the botched Atlantis heist, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe said yesterday, telling Tribune Business: “It hurts the Bahamas any way you put it.” 

He added: “We have been monitoring to see what the effect would have been internationally. Up to this point, the effect has been minimal.

“We are continuing to monitor it but, of course, in my view any bad news is just bad news, you want none at all. Even if it’s minimal that’s not good for the Bahamas because it hurts The Bahamas any way you put it.” 

Three men were arrested after attempting to rob the Atlantis casino’s main cashier’s cage in the basement at the Coral Towers around noon Sunday.

The suspects sprayed pepper spray or tear gas into the air, forcing the cage workers to run for safety. The suspects then collected some money, climbed up to the ceiling and put the money there.

They then collected some money, climbed up to the ceiling and put the money into two bags which they had hidden there. One suspect was caught in the cage and the others were nabbed in the corridor attempting to flee.

All the men were caught by Atlantis security, who detained them until the police arrived. Resort officials said the robbery attempt was not visible to casino patrons. Reports of the incident, however, have been published via the Internet by several international media outlets.

“Any negative information that disseminates from the Bahamas could affect our industry because we are on the rebound from the recession. We are on the rebound from very slow periods, and the Bahamas is again becoming the choice place for many travellers. Just as we are hurt everyday when reports circulate of crime generally, certainly we will feel an effect if  negative stories emanate as a result of what took place here on Sunday,” said Mr Wilchcombe.

 He added: “I think this is a lesson for all of us if we want to really build our country.

“The world has changed; it doesn’t take weeks now for information to reach around the world - the information is there within seconds.

“We have to be mindful of that and persons who have decided to engage themselves in unlawful acts must think that they are committing a crime on the state when they behave the way they do. All of us have to be vigilant, reporting things we know and informing the authorities before incidents happen, because prevention is better than cure.”