The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

WITHOUT the traffic generated by cruise lines, Downtown Nassau would be closed, according to the owner of EF Consultants, Ed Fields.

Speaking on a panel about the cruise industry at RF Bahamas Economic Outlook yesterday, Mr Fields said the assumption that the cruise industry does not have a financial benefit to the wider economy is “absurd” as taxi drivers, Downtown businesses, tour operators and other businesses depend on their passenger spend.

“There’s a kind of a misperception of what the industry actually means to The Bahamas. I’ve heard many people say that the cruise ship industry really doesn’t have any spin-off benefits to the country, and it’s kind of on the absurd side of things,” said Mr Fields.

“You couldn’t tell that to 600 or 700 taxi drivers. You couldn’t tell that to all the vendors in the Bay Street area. In fact, I grew up in the Downtown area, and it is morphed from a marketplace to a cruise ship destination. In other words, if there are no cruise ships that day, downtown is closed.”

He encouraged local entrepreneurs to create more activities for cruise passengers highlighting that most operators have profitable businesses and there is still a gap in the market.

“We have to create opportunities for people to go to. Most of the onshore excursions do well, there’s just not enough of them,” said Mr Fields.

Joseph Gaskins Jr, regional public affairs director at Disney Cruise Lines, said creating authentic activities and experiences for guests is “where the money lies” for Bahamian entrepreneurs.

“The cruise industry is growing. There are more than 70 cruise ships being built over the next ten years or so. This is a growth industry, and where the money lies from my perspective, is in the experiences that we can build and create for people who are visiting us in droves and more than any other place in the region,” said Mr Gaskins.

He explained that while locals may not have the capital to launch a mega cruise line or construct a mega resort Bahamians have the opportunity to “own” the cruise industry by establishing operations that provide experiences to passengers while they are in port.

“What Bahamians can own are experiences. There were 30,000 people at Nassau Cruise Port the other day, if you could capture just a percentage of that in a low-cost, high-quality experience for guests, you have an amazing product that will bring benefits for the community,” said Mr Gaskins.

Mr Fields said while there have been “some mistakes” in previous negotiations with large cruise lines as the industry becomes more established in the country the government will have more leverage.

He explained that mega cruise lines will be more open during negotations as they are investing large sums on private island destinations and creating profitable short itinerary trips due to the nation’s proximity.

“I think that while we may have made some mistakes because we were going through a kind of a learning curve with this, the investment is here now,” said Mr Fields.

“The shift in negotiation, has changed from the leverage being on the hotel side 100 percent to more of a balance where the country now has more leverage. I think that’s going to happen with the cruise ship industry, the more investment they put here, the more brick and mortar they put here, the more leverage the government will have in terms of getting better deals.

“The reality is also that the bread and butter of some of these cruise lines is a three-day cruise. There are no other three-day destinations other than The Bahamas. So, I think that we will see more of a balanced approach going forward.”