The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas National Trust (BNT) is seeking to develop and promote nature-based tourism in Inagua and Andros, its executive director describing the potential economic impact as “tremendous”.

BNT executive director Eric Carey in a recent interview with Tribune Business said that the organisation, with funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), was working with the National Audubon Society, an American non-profit environmental organisation, for the development of nature-based tourism centred around birds. “We are working with the National Audubon Society, with funding from the Inter-American Development Bank and we have already launched the project and will soon start executing the development and creation of nature-based tourism centered around birds. The National Audubon Society has more than 800,000 members and constituents and we are hoping to attract some of them to both Inagua and Andros. We are already starting the process of training local guides, identifying and improving the products and we are working closely with the Ministry of Tourism. That is in play,” Mr Carey explained.

As to the potential economic impact, Mr Carey said: “That could be tremendous. If you can think of just bringing 100 visitors to a place like Inagua and if you are able to increase the numbers that could be great for the island’s economy. Right now, it’s going to be limited by the number of hotels. We don’t want to create huge hotels on the islands. We are hoping to encourage local Bahamians to do small properties which they can own and manage.”

Speaking to the BNT’s efforts to raise $32 million to finance its latest five-year plan, Mr Carey said: “It’s an ongoing process. We are still putting in place the mechanism for doing it. We still have to get the word out about what we do. We have been trying to let the public know about the work that we do. We sent our strategic plan to our key decision makers, businesses and potential donors. Basically we are letting people know what we do and how much it costs to do our work. That creates what we hope is an awareness of what we do and what our need is.”

“Depending on people’s interest and if their interest matches what the trust does and our needs then we will have conversations with them. It’s a slow but strategic process that basically starts with awareness about our work and puts our statement of need out there and once people are aware of what we are doing then we basically go and ask them to support it.”