The Tribune

The Bahamas Business Outlook series organiser will this Thursday stage a webinar to explore how this nation can rebrand, strengthen and diversify its tourism product post-COVID-19.

The Tourism and hospitality: Strengths in rebranding webinar will feature Joy Jibrilu, the Ministry of Tourism's director-general; Kerry Fountain, the Bahamas Out Islands Promotion Board executive director; and microbiologist Dr Sheena Antonio-Collie, Doctors Hospital Health System's vice-president of medical affairs.

“Of all the webinars that Bahamas Business Outlook has hosted this year, this tourism webinar is most significant,” said Joan Albury, president of TCL Group, organisers of the Business Outlook series. “We’ve all seen how the transmission of the coronavirus has brought about global travel restrictions and border closures, which resulted in major reduction in air travel and cruising.

"For The Bahamas, closed hotels and attractions, empty beaches and a high level of unemployment tell the tale. This shutdown almost completely closed the tap on inbound tourism revenue, our country’s top moneymaker.”

Mrs Albury cited a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) paper, which said that “by the end of the first quarter of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had brought international travel to an abrupt halt and significantly impacted the tourism industry”.

She added: “Ultimately, if tourism is threatened our entire economy is threatened. It is a sobering thought that should provoke all Bahamians and residents to consider ways that The Bahamas can rebrand, diversify its tourism product, strengthen services and set itself apart from other tourism-dependent countries.”

To register for this free webinar, visit tclevents.com and fill out the registration form. The webinar is sponsored by Cable Bahamas Business Solutions and Doctors Hospital Health System.