The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamians “should be very concerned” that Royal Caribbean’s Paradise Island project sets a precedent that will allow other cruise lines to develop their own private destinations near Nassau, an ex-National Trust chief warned yesterday.

Eric Carey, the BNT’s former executive director, told Tribune Business that if the cruise giant’s $100m Royal Beach Club is ultimately given the go-ahead then it will pave the way for the likes of Carnival, Disney and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to push for their own exclusive New Providence destinations on the likes of Athol Island and Rose Island.

“I think we should be very concerned,” he explained. “I was just sitting down writing the article, and live at Perpall Tract close to the coast. I walked outside the other day, and looked at Crystal Cay and Balmoral Island. What’s to stop any of the cruise lines from saying to the LJM Maritime Academy: ‘Let us put a facility on your property [Crystal Cay], and we will fund your academy’.

“What’s to stop them from going to any island on the eastern end? Athol Island has a lot of Crown Land. The Government could look at doing the same thing, throwing in Crown Land for another expansion and using it to take an equity stake in the project. I think the possibility is very real.”

Mr Carey, who will review the Royal Beach Club’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) on Atlantis’ behalf once submitted, voiced fears that the Royal Caribbean project could establish a dangerous precedent in another article sent to the news media.

“If Royal Caribbean is successful in creating this closed, private beach experience here on Paradise Island, which beaches closest to Nassau will be next to become private cruise islands?” the former BNT chief wrote. “Athol Island, Balmoral Island or Rose Island?

“It is likely that other cruise lines will see the opportunity to create similar disconnected venues, taking full advantage of our beauty and natural resources without giving our nation anything in return. Over time, the reduction in the number of cruise line passengers who actually set foot in Nassau or other destinations not owned by cruise line companies will take a serious bite out of our economy.

“From a socioeconomic perspective, I agree with minister [Glenys] Hanna Martin that the cruise lines do not need a private island experience on Paradise Island, right in the heart of our capital. It is of little to no benefit to Bahamians for the cruise line to take thousands of passengers from their ship and shuttle them across the harbour, away from Bahamian vendors, tour operators, restaurants, and others seeking a piece of the cruise passenger economic pie. This makes no economic sense.”

Mr Carey acknowledged that the $300m Nassau Cruise Port transformation has the potential to drastically increase the number of visitors to New Providence, given that it will have the ability to accommodate six ships - including two of the largest Oasis class - on any given day with potentially more than 30,000 total passengers on-island.

However, noting that Royal Caribbean initially planned to take up to 3,500 passengers across to its Paradise Island beach club (a number the Government says has been reduced to 1,000), Mr Carey said Bahamians should be concerned that similar visitor ‘leakages’ would occur if other cruise lines established private destinations around New Providence. Should this occur, there would be less and less business for operators and employees who rely on the cruise industry.

“A lot of them don’t get off the boat. Fifty percent of them we think don’t get off the boat. The vast majority of them might be going to private islands, and there will be very little economic benefit for Bahamians,” Mr Carey warned. “When they first started private islands, who thought we’d be where we are now.”

He also argued that the cruise lines’ renaming of their private islands, with Gorda Cay having become Castaway Cay; Coco Cay now Royal Caribbean’s ‘Perfect Day’, and Little San Salvador Holland America’s Half Moon Cay, meant Bahamians were in danger of losing their identity.

“Not only are we losing economic activity, but we’re losing our heritage and cultural identity,” Mr Carey told Tribune Business. “These places were named by fishermen, spongers and sailors from way back then. They are not even sacred any more.”

Meanwhile, Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister, speaking at last week’s Seatrade cruise event in Florida, said John Pinder, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, was working to “create multi-destination cruise travel within The Bahamas” with the lines stopping in Freeport, Nassau, Bimini and one of their local private island destinations.

He added that the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation was also working to “create synergies” with the Bahamas Maritime Authority (BMA), which manages the ship registry on which many cruise vessels are registered, and is targeting a 20 percent increase in cruise arrivals for 2023 after last year’s 5.4m total matched pre-COVID figures.

Mr Carey, meanwhile, said many of Royal Caribbean’s passengers will not experience Bahamian culture and heritage if they are simply taken by boat across Nassau harbour from the cruise port straight to the Royal Beach Club. “Today, when visitors arriving by cruise ship disembark at Prince George Wharf, they are transported into our unique and authentic Bahamian culture,” he wrote.

“Guests have immediate access to enjoy Downtown Nassau and opportunities to enter our shops, visit our historical and cultural sites, eat in our restaurants, learn our history, and travel around the island with help from our taxi drivers and excursion operators.

“With Royal Caribbean’s proposed project, that all will change. Instead of navigating through the recreational, commercial and historical offerings of Nassau – such as the Straw Market (where vendors are already struggling), Ardastra Gardens, Graycliff, Queen’s Staircase and Rawson Square, Fort Charlotte, Arawak Cay, Junkanoo Beach and any number of island tours and excursions - guests will disembark from cruise ships and take water taxis directly to Royal Caribbean’s own port, bypassing our local economy,” the ex-BNT chief continued.

This diversion of visitors, he added, “depicts a frightening scenario that should concern all Bahamians because it threatens the livelihoods of our people who depend on visitors coming through town. In this new set-up, will visitors even see and experience The Bahamas we know and love?

“As [Mrs Hanna Martin] and so many others have advanced, we should be looking to create authentic experiences for cruise passengers on New Providence itself. The forts and other historical monuments, BNT National Parks, the Nassau Botanical Garden, the National Art Gallery, Graycliff’s many attractions on West Hill Street, and local tours are all options that can be developed and expanded to provide wholesome marketable experiences for our visitors.

“And finally, from a nationalistic perspective, I object to giving away the scarce Crown Land on Paradise Island to this foreign conglomerate. I wholeheartedly support the sentiment expressed recently by Minister Hanna Martin, which is that we need to be very careful in how we allocate Crown Land because it is a limited resource, and it is owned by all of our people,” Mr Carey continued.

“As troubling as the environmental threats posed by the proposed beach project are, the socioeconomic and nationalistic impacts may be of even greater concern. All Bahamians should join in that analysis and insist that we value and protect the unique natural beauty and resources that define our proud nation. That should be non-negotiable.”