The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Bahamian tour and excursion operators were yesterday said to be enjoying a post-COVID bounce back with bookings some 15 percent ahead of 2019 levels.

Adoni Lisgaris, the Bahamas Excursion Operators Association (BEOA) president, told Tribune Business that this year’s bookings are also up 10 percent year-over-year compared to 2022 with business “pretty much steady” throughout the year. 

“We have been seeing a lot of tourism traffic this year and last year. There are busier times and slower times, but there is never a closed season. There is slow season,” he added. Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister, last week proclaimed that the traditional slow period for tourism during September and October is now a thing of the past with the industry now enjoying all-year event business. 

“My sector is more like a higher spending group of people. You have a different clientele and they travel during the off-season. That’s good for other vendors, though, it may not be too good for me, but all in all it’s still steady work and we are able to pay bills, which is good,” Mr Lisgaris said. “Now, we can pretty much break-even and pay bills.”

The recent increase in first-time and annual boating fees, though, is threatening to put a damper on the post-COVID rebound with some businesses and vessel owners facing a more than 900 percent increase. 

“We haven’t had to pay it yet because the commercial licence expires in December, so we haven’t had to pay for it yet. But it’s like we had a good year and we are being punished for it,” Mr Lisgaris added.

“I just don’t understand the increase in fees. Because we are making more money, so that means we are already paying more VAT because we have a collective increase in sales? They are making more money anyway. So why are they doing that? Out of spite?”

Mr Lisgaris added: “Right now we have a bunch of hackers on the sea, taking fares away from licensed operators. Right now, they pay absolutely nothing. The hackers make up as much as the licensed excursion operators. All of the boats have registration numbers on it, or at least they are supposed to. So you can look by the numbers to see if it’s a commercial boat or it’s a private boat. 

“You can tell who is doing a charter or not, and some of them have private numbers on them. The best way I can explain it is that you can tell the difference between a taxi and a regular private vehicle by the licence plate, and you can tell if a private vehicle is charging tourists or whatever, and that is basically what is happening out there. They are just not paying their due taxes. It’s been a good year, but I’m just not too happy with the increase in these taxes and port fees.”