The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A BAHAMIAN tourism operator yesterday warned tensions between rival Goodman’s Bay vendors are threatening to boil over as she accused authorities of perpetrating an “injustice” that could force the termination of 80 percent of her staff.

Monique Taylor, managing director of Seaside Destination Services Company, told Tribune Business she feels she is “being penalised for success” by Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority plans to cut her company’s operating space at the western New Providence destination by up to 20-fold.

Speaking after what she described as an “aggressive” and intimidating inspection of her business and other Goodman’s Bay vendors by Authority officials yesterday, she added that plans to cut her area of beach to just 10 feet by 10 feet - as opposed to the present 120 feet by 200 feet - will devastate Seaside’s operation and cost 12 of her present 15 staff their jobs.

Ms Taylor added that the problem has worsened as a result of the Government relocating vendors from Cabbage Beach on Paradise Island, to make way for construction of the $550m Four Seasons Ocean Club Residences development, to Goodman’s Bay without properly planning for the consequences.

She added that this has resulted in Goodman’s Bay becoming over-saturated, with too many vendors battling for insufficient tourist numbers. The Seaside managing director warned that this has produced overly-aggressive competition among long-standing Goodman’s Bay vendors and their Cabbage Beach newcomers, resulting in a threatening, “disorderly and confrontational” climate that is deterring guests and damaging the tourism experience.

And Ms Taylor also levied charges of “political favouritism” and victimisation, asserting that up to five other vendors are now invading and encroaching on the part of Goodman’s Bay beach assigned to Seaside and attempting to steal its tourist customers. She alleged that many of them appeared to be supporters of the governing Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), and said it appeared the Government was trying to “tear me down” and give her business to them.

Glenys Hanna Martin, minister of tourism, told Tribune Business she was in London when contacted for comment and urged it to reach out to the Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority, which has management and oversight responsibilities for Goodman’s Bay.

Jamahl Strachan, executive chairman of the Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority, did not respond to calls requesting comment, but he yesterday told another Tribune reporter that existing Goodman’s Bay vendors - some of whom he accused of occupying spaces three times’ larger than their permitted areas - will have to make room for their Cabbage Beach counterparts.

Signalling that the Government plans to redesign the existing Goodman’s Bay layout, Mr Strachan also dismissed claims of political favouritism by Ms Taylor and others. “It hasn't come before my desk, but if it is in the media, you know we're all objective, we're all Bahamians, and we will continue to work with each and every vendor without any preference. So I would dismiss all of that,” he argued.

Documents obtained by Tribune Business reveal that Ms Taylor has been in a long-standing battle with the Authority dating back at least 18 months to summer 2025 under former executive chairman, McKell Bonaby, when it first tried to cut her Goodman’s Bay space allocation to the 10 feet by 10 feet size that it is now pushing again.

Seaside warned the Government then that imposing such restrictions on its operations, located 50 feet east of the Goodman’s Bay jet ski ramp and offering umbrellas, chairs and food and drink services to tourists, would threaten its more than-$50,000 investment in 300-plus beach chairs plus destroy plans to expand and double its workforce from 15 to 30.

Ms Taylor said the dispute, at least for then, was resolved by Prime Minister Philip Davis KC who, during a meeting with Seaside staff and executives, called the Authority and told it to let her area remain untouched.

However, she alleged that the Authority then left the 2026 renewal of her licence/permit to operate at Goodman’s Bay in limbo. While Seaside possesses a valid Business Licence and tax compliance certificate, Ms Taylor explained that - after asking her to address its Board in January or February 2026 over the licence renewal application - the Authority had prevented this by never giving her the necessary date.

Now, the Authority has returned with the same space-cutting proposal. Describing Seaside as a “pioneer” in making Goodman’s Bay beach a tourist destination seven years ago in 2019, when “no visitors came out there”, Ms Taylor said her annual permit to operate at the destination has been renewed every year with no problem prior to 2026.

“Five different vendors are invading our space,” she told Tribune Business yesterday. “They want to put different vendors inside my space, and they are constantly harassing me. Some are Cabbage Beach people. All of them are PLP supporters and they are harassing me just about every day.

“I feel that it’s an injustice and it’s unfair. The Prime Minister said he’s in support of small and medium-sized business growth, but that’s contradicted by what people in his administration are doing. They are trying to cut me down to 10 feet by 10 feet. I think I am being penalised for success and feel it’s a travesty. We’ve worked so hard to make our business successful. I’d think people would want to uphold that and promote that.”

Samantha Anderson, the Authority’s senior operations director, made its plans very clear to Ms Taylor in an October 21, 2026, letter. She wrote: “This letter confirms the verbal notice given during that [September 9] inspection concerning the reorganisation of the vending area and the requirement to relocate your operations to your designated space.

“The Authority is undertaking this reorganisation as part of its ongoing compliance initiatives to create a safer, more orderly and better-managed beachfront.The arrangements are intended to protect vendors, safely accommodate vending operations, and maintain clear access for members of the public.

“These instructions are being issued to all vendors at Goodman's Bay Beach and form part of a co-ordinated approach to managing the vending area… Moving forward, all vendors are strictly allotted a 10 by 10 space footprint. Your tent, equipment and other items used in your operations must be positioned entirely within that designated 10 by 10 space,” Ms Anderson added.

“Your operations must remain within the activities and limits authorised by your permit. Any chairs, umbrellas or other equipment exceeding the permitted allocation must be removed from the beach and stored off the property…. In accordance with updated beachfront policies, all chair and umbrella vendors are strictly limited to a maximum of 30 chairs within their designated stall space.”

Seaside pushed back against exactly the same proposed restrictions in June 2025. Tyrone ‘Rock’ Morris, the veteran union activist, in letters to both Prime Minister Davis and Mr Bonaby warned that the Authority’s plan would cut the company’s available chair inventory for guests “by over 90 percent from 350 to 30”.

“Seaside, which employs 15 Bahamians, has invested tens of thousands of dollars in building its business, providing food, beverages, chair and umbrella rentals serving both residents and tourists,” Mr Morris wrote.

“Recently, the Authority unilaterally implemented restrictions on Seaside's operations, including drastic reductions in permitted seating capacity and new permit conditions, without consultation or notice. These actions threaten to force the termination of local employees and jeopardise a thriving business, undermining the entrepreneurial spirit encouraged by government policy.”

Mr Morris added that Ms Taylor and her business “collaborate with 100 taxi drivers” in transporting tourists from Goodman’s Bay, and Seaside’s eventual meeting with the Prime Minister saw the planned changes to her space temporarily halted. However, that was only a short-term respite, as the Authority teamed with the Royal Bahamas Police Force to yesterday inspect how many Goodman’s Bay vendors had complied with the new terms.

“The inspection will assess compliance with the relocation instructions, permit conditions, storage rules and payment requirements outlined above. Failure to comply may result in immediate enforcement action, including the suspension of operations, in accordance with applicable requirements,” Ms Anderson had warned.

Ms Taylor described yesterday’s inspection by a 20-strong team from the Authority and police as “aggressive” and “intimidating”, and suggested it was being influenced by PLP-supporting vendors. She said she felt Seaside was being targeted, and added that her business was told to stop serving food and drink to tourists who had already paid for their fare.

The Seaside chief also asserted that the Authority tried to demand rent for months she has already paid, and added: “They are trying to destroy persons they feel are not in their favour… We value our tourism product. We don’t want their bad management to spill over and damage our tourism product by putting people they know are a problem there.

“It’s very damaging because some of the tourists, when they come there and see the behaviour, they ask the drivers to carry them back. We have lost revenue because of the complaints from tourists to the taxi drivers. We’ve seen a drop in revenue from less tourists coming out here and spending less. It’s damaging the reputation of the beach. I’ve noticed a steady drop-off in revenue since they transferred all the Cabbage Beach people out there.

“They’ve brought about ten of them, and say they are bringing about 20 more.” Ms Taylor likened the proposed cuts to her space to AML Foods having to make way for a Super Value store in its outlet, or an Arawak Cay restaurant being asked to shrink its own footprint to accommodate a rival, saying that only at Goodman’s Bay is such a situation now happening.

She and Seaside made clear their concerns about the potential damage to the Bahamian tourism product in an October 28, 2026, letter to Mrs Hanna Martin that was copied to the Prime Minister and Mr Strachan. She cited “the relocation of vendors from Cabbage Beach, the deterioration of the operating environment, and the restrictions now being advanced by the Bahamas Public Parks and Public Beaches Authority”.

“These developments threaten not only established Bahamian businesses and the livelihoods of their employees but also the quality, safety and reputation of the tourism experience offered at Goodman's Bay. We respectfully seek your urgent intervention in a matter that has implications extending well beyond the interests of any individual beach operator,” Ms Taylor said.

“For many years, Goodman's Bay has provided a relatively peaceful and welcoming environment for Bahamians, cruise ship passengers and other visitors. However, since the recent placement of additional vendors relocated from Cabbage Beach, long-standing operators have reported an increasingly disorderly and confrontational atmosphere.

“These reports include aggressive solicitation, confrontations between vendors, interference with customers, attempted intimidation, encroachment upon established operating areas and disputes affecting the orderly conduct of business,” she added.

“There have also been reports of visitors experiencing harassment and aggressive approaches, while taxi drivers, tour operators and persons involved in arranging cruise ship excursions have expressed concerns about the treatment of customers and the disturbances occurring at the beach. These matters should not be underestimated.

“The visitor experience is central to the success of our tourism industry. An atmosphere characterised by intimidation, confrontation or uncertainty can undermine visitor confidence, discourage repeat business and damage the reputation of The Bahamas as a safe and welcoming destination. We respectfully submit that these concerns require co-ordinated attention from the relevant government agencies before conditions deteriorate further.”

Asked about the impact for her business if these conditions persist, Ms Taylor told Tribune Business: “We will lose revenue and cannot hire as much. I have a staff of some 15 people and will have to let go at least 12 of those persons hired. It will be a ripple effect for those young people and their families.

“It will have a devastating effect on my investment over the years, and damage the tourism product because they want to cut me down to size for people who want to fight every other day. It will damage the front-line tourism product. It will put a bad taste in tourists’ mouths, and these are the people we want to put on the front-line. It will impact The Bahamas and the type of experience I have built my company to be.”

Ms Taylor urged the Government to reverse course, “cancel these new restrictions” and allow existing Goodman’s Bay vendors to retain their current spaces. She added that those relocated from Cabbage Beach need to be assigned their own, separate and new, spaces, and encroachment by competitors stopped.