The Tribune

• D’Aguilar: ‘Stupid, silly fake news’ dissuades Bahamians

• Central Bank chief warns tourism gains hit by case rise

• Family Island bright spot: Air arrivals off just 31% in Q1

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A Cabinet minister says daily reports on the growing COVID-19 surge are making him “ever-more frustrated” with the “hesitancy” of many Bahamians to become vaccinated and aid economic revival.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, told Tribune Business he blamed “stupid, silly fake news” about the AstraZeneca vaccine’s effectiveness and alleged side effects for dissuading Bahamians from protecting their lives, health and employment.

Describing this as “quite worrying” amid the so-called COVID-19 third wave, which saw more than 1,200 new cases detected in April alone, he blasted: “Every day when I see these reports [of new infections], this adds greater frustration that the level of hesitancy is as high as it is.

“Given the fact that cases are moving up, this should provide all the more incentive for people to get vaccinated. Obviously a destination without COVID-19 is much more attractive than a destination with COVID-19. If we go forward on that premise, as cases increase so, too, it impacts the attractiveness of the destination.

“That’s why, as minister of tourism, I’m a strong proponent of people getting vaccinated. Hotels know the potential impact on their brand and on their business. I’m sure they’re going to be encouraging in the strongest possible way for their staff to get vaccinated.”

Addressing concerns that The Bahamas has removed the COVID-19 PCR testing requirement for fully vaccinated visitors too soon, given that there remains a chance they can still  carry the virus and therefore worsen this country’s so-called “third wave”, Mr D’Aguilar responded: “What the science has showed is that persons who are vaccinated will not get so sick that they have to go to hospital.

“And their ability to pass on the virus is diminished by 90 percent even if they get infected. This is why we want Bahamians to get vaccinated as quickly as possible, and this hesitancy I see quite a lot, especially on New Providence, is quite worrying in that regard.

“There’s a lot of what I call stupid, silly fake news going on about the vaccine that is causing a considerable amount of hesitancy.” Mr D’Aguilar added that The Bahamas’ decision to remove the COVID-19 PCR test for fully vaccinated travellers as of Saturday, May 1, was backed by similar steps taken by other countries.

He pointed out that the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had advised it was safe to travel if fully vaccinated, while the European Union (EU) yesterday said it will re-open to tourists from countries with low COVID infection rates, and to anyone who has been fully vaccinated, from June 2021.

“Given that the vaccine ensures you don’t fall badly ill, and that it greatly diminishes your ability to spread the virus to someone else, these are exactly the reasons why we are removing the PCR test requirement,” Mr D’Aguilar told this newspaper. “It is supported by the science. This is not the call of the Ministry of Tourism; this is the call of the Ministry of Health. They’ve guided us in this exercise.”

The minister added that it was “too early to tell” whether removing the COVID-19 PCR test, which had to be taken within five days of visiting The Bahamas, will boost visitor numbers by removing a potential deterrent to travel and thus further aid the tourism sector’s rebound.

“I anticipate that it will, but it will take a little time to filter into the marketplace,” Mr D’Aguilar said. “We obviously anticipate an increase because there are fewer impediments to travel. There’s no doubt having to get a PCR test within five days of coming into The Bahamas causes some people consternation.

“You have to take the test, get the results, upload them to the Health Visa website and get approval. Some people pictured it to be a nerve-wracking process.”

However, John Rolle, the Central Bank’s governor, yesterday warned that The Bahamas could squander the early gains of its tourism re-opening - and the possibility of exploiting high US COVID vaccination rates - unless it gets its own infection outbreak under control.

Speaking as the regulator revealed its 2021 first quarter economic assessment, he added that the present surge in COVID-19 infections will “impact how readily we can take advantage of the improving situation in the US” as vaccinations continue to roll-out in a major source market that is presently giving The Bahamas 90 percent-plus of its tourists.

“Getting beyond the next few months is very important in how The Bahamas preserves its initial re-entry into the tourism business,” Mr Rolle argued. “It’s very critical in preserving this initial amount of business that we’re starting to see.

“Beyond that, the outlook for the second half of the year and the recovery we expect to see in 2022, there’s a little more certainty around this.” However, he added that it was vital that The Bahamas contains and manages its latest COVID outbreak if it is to maintain the tourism and wider economic recovery momentum going into the third and fourth quarters this year.

“Access to vaccines and the pace of vaccination still leaves global tourism exposed to the risk of further setbacks. The upside potential for The Bahamas is the next-door progress in the US, but the downside risk is less immediate progress inside The Bahamas with inoculation and containment,” Mr Rolle said.

The Bahamas recorded another 27 confirmed COVID-19 cases yesterday, with one further fatality, taking the latter total to 210. More than 700 cases remain active, with 50 persons in hospital and four of those in intensive care. The 27 new cases follow the 160 cases recorded between Thursday and Saturday of last week.

Meanwhile, with cruise ship tourism still completely shut down and stopover arrivals limited, the Central Bank revealed that total arrivals to The Bahamas fell by 93.2 percent year-over-year for the 2021 first quarter given that they were up against two pre-COVID months from last year.

Air or stopover arrivals were off 70.4 percent nationwide, while sea arrivals were down 99 percent in the absence of the cruise ships. However, the Family Islands, aided by their social distancing appeal and attraction for private aviation and yachters, only saw a 30.6 percent year-over-year drop-off in stopover business for the 2021 first quarter following a 45 percent decline last year.

The larger mass market tourism sector on New Providence fared worse, with air arrivals down 74.7 percent year-over-year. Passengers travelling through Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) were down 80.7 percent for the first quarter, while Grand Bahama’s air arrivals were off by 71.9 percent.

“Reflective of the ongoing restrictive global travel measures, total international departures for March 2021 amounted to 32,489, vis-à-vis the 91,538 departures recorded in March 2020,” the Central Bank said of LPIA.

“Despite a gradual reopening of tourism, the industry remained significantly behind the performance levels of 2020. Relatively, the onshore business resumption has been faster for the Family Islands than for New Providence and Grand Bahama, while domestic tourism provided healthy support for the vacation rental market,” Mr Rolle said.

“So far, only the stopover market has benefited from the restart. Cruise activity is still only expected to resume after home porting arrangements from inside The Bahamas begin over the summer month, which could take advantage of a significantly vaccinated American population and pent-up travel demand.”

The Central Bank added: “Data provided by AirDNA revealed positive activity within the short-term vacation rental market during the month of March, supported by domestic demand. Specifically, total room nights sold rose by 64.8 percent, contrasting with a 0.3 percent decline in the prior year. Underlying this development, bookings for entire place listings and hotel comparable listings increased by 65.9 percent and by 55.4 percent, respectively.....

“For the first three months in 2021, total room nights sold declined by 39.6 percent, underpinned by a 38.8 percent fall-off in bookings for entire place listings and a 45.8 percent reduction in private room listings. Pricing data showed that the ADR for both entire place and hotel comparable listings advanced by 17.2 percent and by 2.2 percent to $456.46 and $159.54, respectively.”