The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

ENERGY constraints are continuing to weigh on Andros’ tourism economy, with a lodge operator yesterday pointing to persistent outages and limited airlift as added costs and complications for small businesses trying to attract and retain visitors.

Nathaniel Adderley, owner/operator of Nathan’s Lodge in Kemp’s Bay, said unreliable electricity has forced him to invest in a generator to ensure outages do not disrupt the experience for guests, adding another expense to an already-costly operating environment.

“The outages have been a nuisance, and even with the outages, the bills are still high. So I have a generator. I had to bite the bullet and buy a generator, which is an added expense on a small business,” he said.

Mr Adderley said the back-up generator means his guests have largely been shielded from the impact of outages, but the cost of maintaining that protection comes on top of his BPL bill.

“But the guests haven’t had that experience. Once the electricity goes off, the generator kicks in,” he said. “At the end of the day, you have a bill for BPL and one for the generator now. You can’t win. But I guess I’ve got to try to make sure that they are happier and they come in, you know.”

Mr Adderley said airlift presents another major challenge for Andros tourism operators, particularly when it comes to attracting visitors looking for short stays.

“Airlift is another big issue. You can’t do a day trip or an overnight trip or something like that,” said Mr Adderley. “If you go on a Sunday, that Sunday gets you in till 3pm and you come back out at 6pm on Sunday. Effectively, it doesn’t help you at all.”

The flight schedules also create an added complication for international visitors travelling to his lodge, he said, as some are required to spend a night in Nassau before continuing to Andros.

“My international guests, if they’re coming in, they have to spend a night in Nassau, then come to me the next morning. That’s Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday,” Mr Adderley said.

“So it’s certainly demanding for our guests, and it’s not the ideal situation for a business, you know, a small business. But we do the best we can to try to keep it together.”

Mr Adderley is nevertheless looking ahead to the winter tourism season, when visitors from colder climates traditionally travel to The Bahamas, saying he hopes activity will strengthen from November. “We’re just hoping that they should pick up again in November,” he said.

His comments come as power reliability issues continue to affect other parts of Andros.

BPL said yesterday that a subsea cable fault between Driggs Hill and Mangrove Cay interrupted power supply to the latter, with the utility implementing a four-hour rotational supply schedule while repairs are made.

BPL also said Moxey Town would remain offline because of a fault on the transmission and distribution network, with a team scheduled to carry out repairs as soon as possible.