The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

I wish to add my voice to the concerns raised in your article yesterday by Robert Sands about entry into The Bahamas.

For any business there must be thought as to how the product or service is presented to the public and what measures can be taken to ensure success. My wife and family have travelled to Nassau for decades. The tourism industry was successful. We ended up purchasing a property and always have been satisfied until the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.

Now it is a major hassle to come to you and the decisions made by your Government and the Tourism Ministry are seriously jeopardising your future. There has been little or no consideration as to whether visitors are willing to undertake all the requirements just to come to you. What major good has come from The Health Visa? None that we can see except for revenue for the Government and its associates in the payment system. Last winter after going through all the hassles we only obtained permission to travel 45 minutes before our flight as you had the five-day rule from test to landing. We were at our airport just hoping to get permission so we could board the flights. If we were going to a hotel rather than our property we would never have risked all the financial problems associated with booking the trip. The uncertainty deterred visitors, yet your Government carried on without any changes despite so many complaints from travel agents and concerned visitors. We read them all in The Tribune and also the many nasty comments online from Bahamians criticising those who made valid points against the policies. Unbelievably nothing changed until you allowed double vaccinated people to enter without tests but still with the expensive Visa.

Now we cannot come as yet this winter because of your new rule that we must have a rapid antigen test no older than three days old. Whoever dreamed up this idea it has been a failure. Everywhere in the U.S.A. there is a massive shortage of these tests. We have yet to find anywhere nearby to get a test. If there is not a shortage by then one clinic 145 miles away will give us one at $300 each but we cannot get a result for 48 hours. That leaves us one day to apply for the Visa, await confirmation and get on airplanes to reach you before the three day deadline. Why should people be put in this position? Our travel agent who sells us our air tickets told us yesterday he is not getting bookings for The Bahamas as a result but sending people elsewhere. Southern Florida business is booming as a result and other Caribbean countries who have fewer requirements.

Unless things change soon we will not get to Nassau this year which is very upsetting and could have been avoided if there had been any common sense prevailing in your Government entry rules.

DAVID WILLIAMSON

Connecticut,

February 1, 2022.