The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Staff Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

COMMUNITY leaders have launched an inner-city tourism board in a bid to increase Bahamian ownership in the hotelier-dominated industry.

Bain and Grants Town Advancement Association president Rev CB Moss yesterday declared that the tourism industry had become synonymous with the hotel industry to the exclusion of the community, resulting in an “anaemic tourism product”.

He called on the government to declare Bain and Grants Town a historic community as residents work to restore value to an area that has become infamous for “dirtiness and crime”.

Two guided tours have already been scheduled, including a religious tour of historical churches in the area.

Rev Moss said: “Tourism was moved progressively out of communities and into hotels, which are owned by investors who are mostly non-Bahamian. They come here, build what they want with no sort of consultation with what is actually needed, and then they have to figure out how to pay for it. Tourists don’t come here to walk around the same hotels they left at home, or drink $8 bottles of soda.”

“It’s a grave injustice to this country. Tourism should be community-driven: the hotel industry is only a part of the pie - they are the landlords. They are also major stakeholders in transportation and entertainment.”

The idea to establish a tourism board to market cultural visiting of the inner city as a means to restore economic empowerment and raise awareness of the country’s rich heritage was born a decade ago, according to Rev Moss.

It was first pitched to the Ministry of Tourism in 2004 and dismissed; however, Rev Moss said the ministry gave its seal of approval last week after a presentation on its market potential - specifically for black Americans.

Without funding or support, the BGTAA spent four years gathering research on the community with the help of local and international consultants. Most of the historic information uncovered was sourced internationally, according to Rev Moss, who noted that there was only one paragraph on Bain and Grants Town at the national archives.

Rev Moss said once Bain and Grants Town is declared a historic community, every property will take on a different value.

Freddie Munnings Jr, the board’s Entertainment director, said: “Properties on Bay Street are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, yet five minutes away it is called a ghetto. The soon-to-be University of the Bahamas is across the road, yet one road over they call it a ghetto. Why do we have to wait on those with lighter skin to give us value?”

Mr Munnings Jr said: “The Cat and Fiddle (nightclub) was the most influential - the PLP held rallies there when they couldn’t go into white places.”

Rev Moss said the tours are intended to start under police escort initially but he expects that crime will not be an issue due to the high level of community involvement.

Board members appointed yesterday include Taxi Cab union executive Philip Watkins, film maker Celi Moss and market research consultant Mwale Rahming.