The Tribune

The Abaco Business Outlook (ABO) conference will take place virtually from October 15-16 under the theme, A new era: Resilience in the face of vulnerability.

Organisers said it will feature four sessions covering upgrades to infrastructure; small business recovery; tourism development; and technology advances as means that can help Abaco rebound from the twin setbacks of COVID-19 and Hurricane Dorian.

“ABO is our way of signalling thanks for how well Abaco has fared thus far,” said Joan Albury, TCL Group's president, who founded the conference 16 years ago. “As always, we have secured the right experts to deliver facts and well-grounded opinions.

"Our presenters will focus on the abundant opportunities available for growth so that residents of the Abacos can address their challenges and accelerate individual and collective recovery.”

Ken Hutton, Abaco's Chamber of Commerce president and moderator for the October 15 sessions, said housing is the most important economic issue facing Abaco today.

"It boils down to this: You can’t reopen your business and hire staff if there is nowhere for you or your staff to live," he added. "Abaco has been shut down for six to seven months because of COVID-19, and that stopped a lot of the reconstruction going on here.

"The only people who were reconstructing are the people who are already on the island. We need to open the island again to second homeowners for them to come back and rebuild.

“The other thing we need is more flexibility on behalf of the government to allow temporary housing solutions at least for a year or so. As much as we want it, it’s going to be virtually impossible to have everything built here up to hurricane standards. We’ve got to get people here to be able to build those structures," Mr Hutton continued.

“But the most important thing coming up right now that is going to be critical in rebuilding Abaco is that the tax-free provisions for the special economic recovery zone of Abaco expire in December. Now, as a result of COVID-19, we basically lost eight months, so those provisions need to be extended.”

Wynsome Ferguson, manager of the Abaco Tourist Office, said navigating commerce around COVID-19 lockdowns is the biggest challenge regarding tourism on the island. She said that after recent weekend lockdowns many hotels on the island have decided to close until November 1.

“If things continue and we’re able to have the airlift come in, we will still open on November 1 because people are wanting to come to Abaco,” said Ms Ferguson. “With the vacationing in place, they were allowed to come but not able to do anything. People were turned off by that. What we need to find is the balance between keeping Abaco open and keeping Abaco safe."

Dominic Petty, northern Bahamas director for Cable Bahamas, will join Paul Rolle, commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force; Craig Stubbs, assistant commissioner, Royal Bahamas Police Force; Algernon Cargill, director of aviation, Ministry of Tourism and Aviation; Ian Pratt, chief operating officer, Bahamas Power & Light; and Jon Conway, disaster response manager, Water Mission International, for the Upgrading infrastructure: Strengthening communities session on Thursday, October 15, from 10.30am to noon.

The accelerating business recovery and maximising opportunities segment, lasting from 2pm to 3.30pm, will feature Davinia Grant, executive director, Small Business Development Centre (SBDC); Sumayyah Cargill, unit head of strategic development and initiatives, Bahamas Development Bank; Samba Sidibe, programme director, CORE Relief; and Chad Sawyer, president, Price Right food store.

Friday's session will start with Rebuilding Abaco tourism, and last from 10.30am to noon. Participants include Kerry Fountain, executive director, Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board, as moderator; Shane Krige, general manager, The Abaco Club; Geoffrey Jones, director of marketing, Baker’s Bay; Brent Ingraham, director of sales and marketing, Abaco Beach Resort; Sarah Ann Showell, operations manager, Tipsy Turtle Tester at Green Turtle Club Resort and Marina; and a representative from Montage Cay and Marina.

The conference will end with All in: Digitisation and thriving in the new normal from 12.30pm to 2pm. Participants include Errol L Bodie, manager, information technology department, Central Bank of The Bahamas, as moderator; Lisa Culmer, IT manager, government digital services; Dennis Deveaux, chief financial officer, Doctors Hospital Health Systems; Dr Marcellus Taylor, director of education, Ministry of Education, Science & Technology; and a representative from the Central Bank Of The Bahamas.

To register for Abaco Business Outlook, visit tclevents.com or contact Alicia Greene at 322.1000 and agreen@tclbahams.com.