The Tribune

• Hotel chief: 'Time has passed' to ease last COVID protocols

• Critical to place Bahamas on 'level playing field' with rivals

• Industry enjoys rate, length of stay boost in 'slow season'

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A top hotelier yesterday asserted that the Government will “secure tourism’s continued upward momentum” if it eliminates the remaining COVID travel restrictions, adding: “The sooner we do it the better off we will be.”

Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business that “the time has passed” to end the mask mandate and COVID testing for unvaccinated travellers given that this nation’s rivals have already done so.

Emphasising the importance of The Bahamas being able to compete on a tourism “level playing field”, he added that the removal of those two protocols would eradicate “any question in the minds of potential travellers” that this nation retains more restrictions than others as the world begins to move beyond the pandemic.

Speaking after Dr Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, said officials have recommended an end to the requirement that unvaccinated travellers produce a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of travelling to The Bahamas, Mr Sands told this newspaper: “I think the fact that the Government is considering this is a very positive move.”

The minister said health officials are also due to debate whether to end the mask mandate when they meet today, and the BHTA chief added: “I think it’s important to remove all remaining impediments to travel, and the two that remain are the testing and mask mandate.

“I think as a country there is a perceived difference between what happens within hotels and what happens in the local community [with mask wearing]. I think it will be good to eliminate that perceived position when it comes to this issue of the mask mandate, but the most important thing is our major source markets and competitors are already at that spot with the removal of the mask mandate and unvaccinated testing requirement.

“Notwithstanding that Bahamians will have personal responsibility for exercising safety protocols for themselves going forward, it is the right thing to do and will be a welcome move by the Government of The Bahamas. It will be a positive impact in terms of securing the continued momentum of tourism in the country.”

Hinting that The Bahamas was late in removing the last two main COVID protocols, especially given that Joe Biden, the US president, has declared the pandemic “over”, Mr Sands told Tribune Business: “I think the time has passed, and the sooner we do it the better off we will be so it will not become a question in the mind of any potential traveller that these impediments exist in The Bahamas’ marketplace.”

Suggesting that the remaining COVID measures may have a more psychological, than actual impact, the BHTA president indicated that the impact from ending pre-travel testing for unvaccinated persons will be negligible since “in excess of 95-96 percent of the persons travelling to The Bahamas, particularly from North America, are vaccinated.

“It will certainly eliminate or do away with any reason prospective visitors to the islands of The Bahamas have not to come,” Mr Sands added of ending the mask mandate and unvaccinated testing. “I would say they’re not having a material impact on the attractiveness of The Bahamas, but the conversation in terms of the negative with these protocols may deter some individuals, so to eliminate them altogether would not only eliminate the impediments but also remove any discussion about what impediments may be in place in the destination of The Bahamas.”

He added that the proposed relaxation would “absolutely level the playing field” between The Bahamas and rival tourism jurisdictions when it came to COVID restrictions, and also “augurs well for more sustained growth and the rebound in the tourism sector.

Confirming that the Bahamian hotel and tourism industry is enjoying a stronger September and October period than what it became accustomed to pre-COVID, with these two months representing the slowest period in the tourism season, Mr Sands said: “It’s almost a contradiction in terms, but I would say we are enjoying a stronger trough period.

“While it is still the off-season, it is not as bad as it has been in prior years. We’re seeing an improvement in [room] rate, we’re seeing an improvement in length of stay, and we’re seeing some increase in business, so that’s a positive.” While the Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year holiday period are “still a fair way out, advanced and forward bookings are very strong”.