TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar.
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Senior Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
TOURISM Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar estimates that home porting will bring 30,000 to 35,000 cruise ship guests to the Bahamas this year who will contribute $50m during their week-long stay in the country.
Speaking during his contribution to the budget debate in the House of Assembly yesterday, Mr D’Aguilar also said cruises from South Florida will resume earlier this year than anticipated.
Royal Caribbean International will operate cruises for three months. The cruises will start in Nassau. On July 4, Crystal Cruises will begin operating its cruises for five months.
Mr D’Aguilar also touted signs of an improving tourism industry, noting that arrivals to the country have been increasing per month since the November 2020 reopening.
“I am also delighted to report that tourism is rebounding every day,” he said. “Everyone sees it! The airports are getting busier! The marinas, up and down, the Bahamas have never been busier. The occupancy levels in the hotels are improving and, most importantly, the tens of thousands of Bahamians who were furloughed as a result of this pandemic are slowly being called back to work.”
Mr D’Aguilar said officials managing the Bahamas’ visas are processing between 6,000 and 8,000 visas per day.
He said: “In January of this year, 22,000 visitors received a health visa. In February, 30,000 visitors received a health visa. In March, 64,000 visitors received a health visa. In April, 68,000 visitors received a health visa. In May, 110,000 visitors received a health visa.
“And when you dig into the numbers, 60 percent of the visitors are coming to Nassau and 40 percent are coming to Family Islands. So that confirms to me that the Family Islands are bouncing back faster than Nassau so far. And that makes sense. With the onset of COVID-19 people wanted a low-density secluded vacation at a small boutique hotel or Airbnb, away from crowds and larger properties. And that is exactly what happened.”
Comments
tribanon 3 years, 5 months ago
D'Aguilar is spouting meaningless numbers. It's never been about the number of tourists but rather how much they actually spend in our local economy. And for decades cruise ship passengers have contributed very little to our economy.
Perhaps D'Aguilar should be asked to explain how is it we ended with a deplorable downtown Nassau shopping district and an insurmountable mountain of national debt when we had millions of cruise ship passengers coming to our country each year before the pandemic?
This dumb poodle just doesn't get it. The cruise ship industry is in direct competition with our nation for every vacation dollar in the pockets of their passengers. And because the competition rules are set by the cruise ship operators, the playing field is a most unlevel one that ensures just about every vacation dollar spent by their passengers ends up their coffers with only a few crumbs left for our local economy.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 5 months ago
The number of visitors he quoted include zero cruise passengers. Poodle... 😁😁😅😅😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
tribanon 3 years, 5 months ago
Where did I say it did? As usual, you've completely missed my point.
bahamianson 3 years, 5 months ago
yes, but if the port is here, now tourists must fly here and stay one or two nights. Hotels get money, restaurants get money, taxi cabs get money. Actually , with the port here , we will make more money now than prior to covid.
licks2 3 years, 5 months ago
The worst people to talk sense with are those who "refuse" to be swayed by the truth. . .they are talking about home-porting. . .these two are off on some dang "rabbit trail" nnosense about cruise passangers don't spend money in ports!! Thank you for talking sense. . .me, I was not going to answer those two! I believe they do understand just what the term "cruise port" means!! Unless where they live planes land in the sea or right on top of the cruise ships!!!!
Logic just escape some of us around here!!!
tribanon 3 years, 5 months ago
You obviously missed reading the recently released IDB study that concluded our bread will never be buttered by cruise ship passengers. And I'm no admirer of the IDB, but they got that study right.
licks2 3 years, 5 months ago
No I did not. . .that generic report is standard for all regional partners. . .for coon days the Bahamian would say! The typical cruise encounter of the past is the problem. . .not home-porting. Places like Miami was getting the lion share because of its home-porting. . .everybody flew into FL to get on ships. . .spending on land time before and after connecting with the ship!! They were spending monies that ports of call passengers did not spend! Ports of callers cruise passengers are not too good for any country.
But I do agree that cruisers alone will not fix our major economic needs. . .it will just inject a 50m more into the kitty!! Which again, is not enough for what we need!
TalRussell 3 years, 5 months ago
This cannot be the same Comrade Dionisio James who built a solid reputation as the Washman's with the sperm of a Champion racehorse - now reduced to being but the Cruise Ship Owners pony in hopes of winning back cruise tourisms' prized trophy.
Why so smart go on to earn lots millions of dollars but obviously not intelligent sufficient to recognize that the hay days for cruise ship passengers has expired, yes?
M0J0 3 years, 5 months ago
Cant make no money under emergency orders. No one care about the curfew if its 12 am. Its time to make wise decisions if we are ever going to rebound.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 5 months ago
Get vaccinated then. See how simple that is?
licks2 3 years, 5 months ago
What are we talking about. . .fish or fowl!! I lost there fella. . .wha da gat to do with anything? Ya lost me "genius". . .
tribanon 3 years, 5 months ago
ZZZZZzzzzzzz........
TalRussell 3 years, 5 months ago
@ComradeProud, exactly, but precisely whereabouts on any we realm's 1200 Out Islands, Cays, and Rocks must Out Islanders skull over to get a single dose of the nonexistent vaccines in their arms?
Comrade Proud, have you ever heard the crown's tourism and aviation minister, even once much mention anything about the lack of vaccines available to the PopoulacesCommeners' at large (PCAL)?
This minister is so laser-focused on cruise passenger arrivals that the operators of the other tourism sectors are saying that the minister, hasn't much bothered to communicate with them?
And what's even that much more shocking is that non-communication stance, just so happens to include a foreign owner, whose West Bay Street Resorts beach's huts, employ 40-60 natives, yes?
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