The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamian tourism industry was yesterday said to have reached an “advanced stage” in crafting a plan for its recovery and market re-entry through a process involving multiple stakeholders.

The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), in a statement issues yesterday, said itself and the Ministry of Tourism were working alongside numerous public and private sector partners to create a Bahamas tourism readiness and recovery plan for re-entry into the tourism market.

The other groups involved include the Nassau/Paradise Island Promotion Board (NPIPB); Paradise Island Tourism Development Association (PITDA); Bahamas Out Islands Promotion Board (BOIPB); Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board (GBITB); Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD); Nassau Cruise Ports; the Association of Bahamas Marinas; Hutchison Ports Bahamas and its affiliates and the Ministry of Health.

The statement said: “This initiative has seen the engagement of a wide cross-section of stakeholders, which is integral to the composition of a comprehensive plan that will incorporate feedback, acumen and insight gleaned from owners, operators, employees, and government representatives from various businesses directly or indirectly linked to the tourism economy.

“Sectors represented include airlines (commercial/private); points of entry (airports, fixed base operators, cruise ports, marinas) and tourism touchpoints within the destination: Taxi, tours, hotels (small, mid-sized, large,) vacation home rentals, retailers, the Straw Market, land and sea-based attractions, to name a few.”

The BHTA added: “The purpose of the plan is to provide a road map for the government, and tourism stakeholders, to use as a guide to ready themselves for the imminent re-opening of our internal and external borders to local and international travel, and to re-enter the tourism market in a strategic manner which considers health and safety pivotal to the sustained restoration of the Bahamian tourism economy.

“In addition, the plan aims to provide external markets; travel industry partners; airlines; tour operators and on-sellers; and internal tourism stakeholders, owners and operators, and employees with the confidence and understanding that The Bahamas is deploying an approved, comprehensive strategy, aligned with regional and local standards and best practices, to re-open the destination, in a safe and healthy manner.”

“Being visible, being accessible, and opening our economy in a safe and healthy manner is key to our ability to recover economically as a tourism destination,” said Carlton Russell, the BHTA’s president.

Vernice Walkine, the Nassau Airport Development Company’s president and chief executive, and Joy Jibrilu, the Ministry of Tourism’s director-general, added: “Having a plan in place is integral to our ability to retain the interest and engagement of our travel partners and potential visitors.

“As a tourism-dependent destination our ability to propel ourselves to ‘top of mind’ amidst a cacophony of competitors, regional and international, each vying for the same depleted demand market is essential to the restoration of our tourism industry. Other regional tourism destinations are initiating their own tourism recovery plans. The Bahamas must be a forerunner in this effort’.”

Stuart Bowe, senior vice-president and general manager of hotel operations for Atlantis, and Robert Sands, senior vice-president of government and community relations at Baha Mar, added: “As varying tourism engines have been on ‘idle’ since the closing of our borders due to the COVID-19 threat, advance planning is necessary to allow external and internal industry partners the opportunity to plan for reopening their businesses - from an operational perspective, as well as a sales, marketing and promotion perspective. Also, the new norm will require significant operational changes, such as installing health and safety signage, equipment, training of employees on best practices, sanitisation processes.”

Mr Sands, told Tribune Business: “We are at an advanced stage of our work. We are beginning to edit and compile our report.”

The BHTA statement, meanwhile, added: “The deployment of a tourism re-entry plan, which provides guidelines for health and safety protocols, not only allows tourism businesses to deploy approved health and safety standards which will, as best as possible, keep employees and guests safe, it provides our target markets with a comfort level that The Bahamas is a safe and healthy destination. This is a baseline requirement for travel consideration.

“The plan is comprised of reports from many sub-committees from the broad range of tourism sector groups, and is close to completion. It will be given to the government for it to provide support to public and private sector businesses, as the country looks toward reopening this critical economic sector.

“The BHTA and the Ministry of Tourism would like to thank the core committee members, group leaders and sub-committee members, which are comprised of in excess of 100 public and private sector tourism stakeholders, for their contribution to this important body of work. The level of engagement and intensity of interest aptly showcases our ability to band together to get The Bahamas back to the business of tourism in a healthy, safe and sustainable manner.”