The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A prominent Bimini dive operator yesterday revealed significant cancellations as a result of newly-imposed COVID restrictions, which he branded “a bummer” for hopes of an economic “shot in the arm”.

Neal Watson, owner of Neal Watson’s Bimini Scuba Centre, told Tribune Business he may have lost some $10,000 worth of business over the next two weeks as a result of Crystal Cruises cancelling planned stops at the island in response to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.

While the impact on the July 4 US independence weekend had been muted, apart from Crystal’s cancellation, due to visitors not learning about the new restrictions in time, Mr Watson said it was locally-owned businesses - especially bars and restaurants - that were suffering from enforced closures and the 7pm curfew start.

He revealed, though, that self-contained resorts such as Resorts World Bimini have been able to keep their bars and restaurants open to 2am, enabling them to retain the majority of tourist spending because guests are confined on-property.

Urging the Government not to drag out health-related decisions, and to be transparent on the COVID-19 situation on Bimini, Mr Watson said the present frustration of businesses and residents will be eased if it can indicate “when we are going to see light at the end of the tunnel”.

Disclosing that Bimini’s economy and tourism industry had been “jamming” prior to the reimposition of pandemic-related restrictions just prior to the July 4 weekend, the dive operator called on the Government to apply harsher measures if necessary to bring the measures to an end more quickly, arguing that he preferred “a cast rather than a band aid”.

“To be honest with you I don’t think it had much of an effect on July 4,” Mr Watson told this newspaper of the new measures. “I feel that it was announced so late by the Government that most of the guests were kind of committed and were here before they realised.

“The business is there, but we’ve had a fair amount of cancellations. All the cruise ships that were supposed to start coming from July 4 have cancelled. The ones for July 11 coming up have also cancelled. That’s kind of a bummer. We’ve lost a lot of bookings from that. 

“I don’t know when it’s going to end and when the cruise ships are going to come back. We were looking at that as a kind of shot in the arm for the economy. It’s a bummer, but it is what it is. I’m sure we’re not the only island, and won’t be the last, but we’ve never had a cruise ship come to Bimini and tie-up,” he continued.

“They’ve cancelled all their ships until Bimini is deemed safe so it’s having an effect on the entire economy of the island. That’s a huge chunk. Everybody was looking forward to that. Summer had started and we were jamming. It was great. I think The Bahamas in general was doing really well right now, just fuelled by the fact that people want to get out and go on holiday.

“A lot of people are vaccinated and want to be out, and hopefully we can get this [COVID outbreak] wrapped up as quickly as possible and get back to being normal. No doubt this is going to stagnate the local economy but the sooner we get over the hill the better,” Mr Watson said.

“If it means taking harsher measures to get it over and done with quicker, then do that. I’d rather rip-off a band aid one time, and if it needs a cast, put a cast on it.” Mr Watson said 99 percent of his company’s dive business takes place outside curfew hours, apart from night dives and cruises, so it was less affected than most by the new restrictions.

Still, he added: “All the people that had booked to dive with us from the cruise ships have cancelled for the next couple of weeks. At 100 people at $100 each, that’s maybe $10,000 worth of business. We’ve also had regular ones and twos cancel and decide not to come.”

Mr Watson said it was difficult to explain to potential customers in US states such as Wisconsin and New Jersey that they will still be able to come to Bimini and dive despite the restrictions, given that many equated curfews with lockdowns and were unfamiliar with the situation on the ground. There were also many rival destinations in The Bahamas, Caribbean and wider world with no such measures, and are thus more appealing.

Still, the dive operator argued that under the present restrictions self-contained resorts on Bimini are “winning and everybody else is losing”. With guests confined to their properties, and restaurants and bars remaining open until 2am while all such off-property locations are closed.

“None of that gets spread around; everything just stays up in the resort. They’re allowed to be open until 2am in the morning, and every local establishment has to be closed at 7pm,” Mr Watson said.

Not objecting to the COVID restrictions if justified by the case numbers, he added: “Nobody’s happy about it, nobody wants it to happen. Plenty of islands had to do it, and now it’s our turn.

“I would implore the Government to make these decisions about when curfew ends and when curfew starts quickly. Don’t leave it hanging around for a long time. Let us know weekly how it’s going, let us know case reports, let us know when it’s getting lifted.

“Right now it’s all rumour and speculation, which doesn’t make sense. The more communication we get from government about when we’re going to see light at the end of the tunnel, it will definitely ease everybody’s frustration.”

One Bimini condo owner who participates in the vacation rental market, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Tribune Business that the imposition of more restrictive COVID-19 measures had resulted in a 35 percent cancellation rate “across the board” for himself and other participants.

“These are all cancellations, and all have come in since the Government issued this new curfew. People don’t trust what is going on,” they said. “I’ve had about eight cancellations for July and August. I’d say it’s about a 35 percent cancellation rate, and it’s not unique to me.

“How can you plan a business with these pop-up rules? I had some cancellations when they put lockdowns on Andros, Cat Island and Governor’s Harbour. Some of these cancellations are from North Carolina, Maryland and Mississippi. It makes no sense or rhyme or reason.”

A message from one cancelling couple, shared with Tribune Business, said: “Due to the new curfew and restrictions, we are making the very difficult decision to cancel our trip to Bimini. We are so disappointed but it’s a big trip and it is our first time, and we worry things might end up shutting down even more by the time we leave or during our stay.

“The tropics also have us concerned. Things are active so early in the season. We hope your condo is available and you will be willing to rent to us when we are able to make the trip.”

The Bimini condo owner said they were now considering “pulling the shutters down” after Labour Day and “waiting until next winter because it’s pointless”.