EDITOR, The Tribune.
I have operated a travel agency in Winnipeg, Manitoba, for over 45 years. We have consistently and with enthusiasm sent clients regularly to both Nassau and the Family Islands during all this time. Our family have regularly visited and my wife’s family now own a vacation property. It was always easy to book people on the flights from our area with the easy connection through Toronto. The Bahamas was the prime destination for our clients. especially in the winter.
Now everything has changed not only because of the COVID-19 pandemic but your Government making it so difficult to enter that our clients are being forced to go to other southern destinations. Today I have read about the United States travel warnings in your edition. Some of our clients are wary about travel but most of them are willing to travel taking precautions as necessary. However they simply do not have the time to go through all the hassles required for your Health Visa and the unworkable five-day requirement to get to Nassau after the test.
I have discussed these problems with other local agencies. The Bahamas has lost nearly all interest from prospective visitors. People do not have the time to complete the new rules is the main comment. It takes hours to get the test, pick the results up from the health centres, scan them to Nassau and await confirmation about travel. The Health Visa has created so much uncertainty. It is so detrimental for The Bahamas to discourage the regular yearly visitors with the red tape. If they are forced to travel elsewhere they may never return.
The only viable solution to getting tourists back, if they are able to get tests, is to end the uncertainty by dropping the Health Visa and allowing visitors to bring a test result no older than seven days with them. If they do not have a proper test result they cannot board the airplane. If the Government stubbornly adheres to the current rules I feel certain that I will not have any bookings for The Bahamas. From our premier destination it now has the lowest interest. I can only hope that the Government will take these problems seriously or it will be a longterm catastrophe for the important Bahamian tourism sector. I am very concerned about the current developments.
PETER R JACOBSEN
Canada,
November 25, 2020.
Comments
Hotelier 3 years, 11 months ago
Amazed at the number of complaints coming from Canada. Could the difficulty be that upon returning home Canadians need to quarantine for 14 days?
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 11 months ago
Never knew Canadians were such whiners.... Sheesh...
JokeyJack 3 years, 11 months ago
I never knew we had so many people in Canada wanting to visit the Bahamas. Maybe we should ban them completely? We don't need their money - plus the majority of them are white, and how can that possibly be alright? Did any of their ancestors own slaves? Perhaps they should have to prove their innocence in that regard before being allowed to come here also. A geneology test confirmed by Ph.D. historians?
While we're at it. Can we think of any other "rules" that we can put in place in our tourism industry than can obstruct movement and enjoyment? I'm sure we can. Come on people. Put your heads together, think of some wacky rules and e-mail your suggestions to the proper authorities. If we try hard enough, maybe we can get our visitor count down to zero along with our case count in 2021. Hooraaah !!!!
ThisIsOurs 3 years, 11 months ago
why are they "scanning" and "waiting"? take a phone with your cdllphone and the new system has "AI" so there should be no wait
rodentos 3 years, 11 months ago
These rules are made be people with hollow heads, there is no brain inside.
Example: I need to go for business to US for 3 days, to follow my schedule I need to take the covid test actually BEFORE I leave Bahamas and get approval with the health visa. So then I walk around in the US for 3 days with all the gatherings and then I return to Bahamas and all is allright, YES? NO? Is this the intention of health visa? YES/NO?
Tell me, is it stupid YES/NO.
EVERY civilized country offers tests ON ARRIVAL because this is the only thing that makes sense. Whats the point of doing a test 4-5 days before the travel and then still have to wait up to 4 days until this stuff passes by the table of some bureaucrat? YEP they say it takes "up to 4 days to get the health visa approved"
ScullyUFO 3 years, 11 months ago
What rodentos said.
What is needed everywhere is a test where you can get a result before the arriving aircraft/vessel departs.
jamaicaproud 3 years, 11 months ago
From a business perspective this makes sense. However I suspect the writer expects "Third world countries" not to have standards during this pandemic. When his "concerns" are Juxtaposed against the fact that Many Canadian Provinces and major cities have instituted draconian Covid restrictions, why does he want easy movement in the sea and sun?
The only Caribbean destination that is recklessly allowing visitors without common sense measures is Dominican Republic.
I know tourism is bread and butter, but must not be an escape route for people who want to escape common sense rules in their own countries.
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