The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister yesterday said he was "incredibly impressed" with how well The Bahamas' COVID-19 tourism entry protocols worked over the Christmas period despite ongoing complaints.

Dionisio D'Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, said he was “pleasantly surprised” by visitor feedback on how the COVID-19 health protocols and testing was working for them over the Christmas and New Year holiday.

He added: “I was incredibly impressed at how well the process worked, the (health) visa process, the five-day testing process. Visitors told me time and time again that they felt safe coming to the Bahamas; they felt that the process wasn't too cumbersome," Mr D'Aguilar said.

The Tribune, though, still continues to carry letters from multiple second homeowners, potential visitors and their travel advisers who argue that the process of obtaining a negative COVID-19 PCR test in the five-day window prior to travelling, plus completing the health visa and getting it approved, is still too costly, cumbersome and fraught with uncertainty.

Meanwhile Graeme Davis, Baha Mar's chief executive, told Tribune Business that the Cable Beach mega resort's early 2021 occupancy forecasts are "on track" despite the challenges posed by reduced airlift and the surge in COVID-19 cases in the US.

With Atlantis experiencing similar difficulties, he said: “We are working diligently to restore business levels and continue the road to economic recovery for Baha Mar and the whole country. The surge of coronavirus cases in key US feeder markets, in addition to decreased airlift along with local and international travel restrictions, certainly pose challenges in attracting visitors to the destination.

“However, we are on track with our occupancy forecasts, which predicted a slow start to the year, and thus we have scaled our operations and staffing accordingly. Our reopening on December 17 was a first and necessary step towards the financial stability of our 1,800 associates, who returned to the resort in Phase one, and building consumer confidence for the future.”

Mr D’Aguilar said visitors who came to The Bahamas over the Christmas period reported that “they had an excellent holiday and, as I said, they kept repeating over and over again how safe they felt and how robust they felt that all protocols were. So they had a wonderful holiday".

Responding to concerns about Atlantis having to place some of its recalled 2,500 staff back on furlough due to low January occupancies, Mr D’Aguilar said Bahamians have to understand that global tourism is about 70 percent down from pre-COVID business volumes. He acknowledged that surging infection rates and deaths in key visitor markets, especially the US, are also a factor.

Baha Mar's Mr Davis said: “Regarding associates that remain furloughed, Baha Mar has extended its commitment to continue ex-gratia payments and full medical benefits for another 30 days. We understand the challenges that COVID-19 has brought on to many of our employees and families, and we are closely monitoring global developments to determine when to reopen our additional hotels SLS and Rosewood in a sustainable way.

“The health and safety of our guests, associates and the community continue to be Baha Mar’s highest priority. Due to the partnership with Doctor’s Hospital, the resort has been able to implement additional layers of safety by creating a unique programme for testing guests prior to check-in, along with weekly testing for all associates and vendors, resulting in over 15,000 rapid antigen tests conducted to date."

Mr Davis had last year said Baha Mar hoped to re-open its Rosewood and SLS properties in February 2021. His latest comments indicate this timeline has become more uncertain due to COVID-19 related volatility in the US and lack of airlift support at present.