The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE Minister of Tourism has ordered his officials “to become a lot more proactive” in addressing US safety concerns, after the Bahamas was subjected to another ‘crime alert’.

Dionisio D’Aguilar told Tribune Business he felt the Government had “failed to sensitise” the US agencies issuing such warnings “to the reality on the ground”, following the latest ‘alert’ from the US State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security (OSAC).

Headlined ‘Security Alert: Nassau (The Bahamas)’, and labelled ‘Spring Break Security’, the advisory warned visiting Americans to again “avoid jet ski operators” and be careful in dealing with scooter rental companies.

When it came to the latter, OSAC warned: “Every year US citizens are killed or very seriously injured in scooter accidents. Inspect the equipment carefully and avoid old or rundown machines. Ask to see a copy of the operator’s Business License and inquire about their medical and liability insurance coverage in the event of accident or injury.....

“Insist on training before using the equipment. Do not allow yourself to be driven off alone with a scooter operator. Unlicensed scooter operators and rental services have been linked to assaults, including sexual assaults.”

The advisory, dated March 8, 2018, added: “Jet ski operators continue to commit sexual assaults and other crimes against tourists. US Embassy personnel are instructed not to use jet ski rentals on New Providence and Paradise Islands, including Cabbage Beach and Cable Beach. We strongly recommend you also avoid patronising jet ski rental operations.”

The OSAC ‘alert’ also warned Americans about problems with obtaining medical care in the Bahamas. “Accidents in the Bahamas can result in difficult and expensive medical situations,” it warned.

“Bahamian doctors and hospitals do not accept US medical insurance policies or Medicare/Medicaid, and typically expect immediate cash payment before medical services are provided. Medical evacuations to the United States easily cost in excess of $15,000.”

The latest US government advisory comes just two months after the previous controversial warning that Americans should avoid visiting the Arawak Cay ‘Fish Fry’ at night, a move that alarmed many vendors given the implications for business levels and profits.

“I’ve instructed my Ministry to become a lot more proactive in dealing with these complaints and perceptions,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business, upon being informed by this newspaper of the latest US advisory.

Arguing that the US concerns should not simply be “dismissed”, the Minister of Tourism suggested that the Bahamas needed to “do a better job” of informing its government agencies of the steps this nation has taken to secure visitors’ safety.

He said increasing visitor numbers were not indicative of a tourism industry plagued by crime, and pointed out that ever city and tourism destination in the world - including in the US - “has some level of crime”.

“We as a government have to do a better job of sensitising and re-educating people who report on these issues,” Mr D’Aguilar said, “of the seriousness ad extent of it. Yes, I can’t say we’re 100 per cent crime free, but no one can say that.

“I don’t care where you are, no one can say that. There’ll always be a pick pocket here or there, but I feel we have failed to sensitise those making these reports as to what’s happening on the ground.

“The warnings indicate we’re not doing a good job of sensitising them. At what level does it warrant these warnings they’re putting out? We feel there’s very little crime affecting tourism based on the numbers coming to our destination.”

Describing the repeated US warnings as “unfair”, Mr D’Aguilar pledged: “We’re going to reach out to the Americans and see what basis they’re using to draw the conclusions they have.

“I want this to be a partnership between the Ministry of Tourism and those US government agencies, primarily the embassy, to correct this issue. We feel we’ve deployed assets on the ground to substantially improve the situation. They may have a different view, different perception to our perception, and we need to work through it to come to common ground that stops these warnings.”

Mr D’Aguilar said the Government had worked to regulate Cabbage Beach, the access to it “and what goes on down there” as part of efforts to clean-up the jet ski industry following previous unsavoury incidents and complaints.

“We’d like to advise them of what we’re doing, the actions taken and get their feedback,” the Minister said of the Americans. “If nothing’s improved they need to tell us that and why they feel that.

“I would be stupid if I’m not concerned. Every sensible minister of tourism would be concerned. That’s why we have to reach out to them. We have to be proactive; dismissive is the wrong approach. We have to be very proactive in addressing these concerns, and that’s what I intend to do.”