Minister: Bahamas Tourism on strong rebound

The Bahamas will soon be recognized once again as the leading travel destination in the region, Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe said while officially charging the newly appointed Hotel Licensing Board.

The Board is responsible for the licensing of all hotels in New Providence. Meanwhile, licensing boards are appointed through local government in Grand Bahama and the Family Islands to carry out the same function.

Minister Wilchcombe said The Bahamas has lost ground in tourism to many regional competitors. However, he was confident that new initiatives will return The Bahamas to its traditional standing as tourism leader. He said regional competitors have learned from The Bahamas, making it necessary to change the way the country operates in tourism.

“They have looked at everything we did as a country and they have gone to our playbook and they have used it very effectively,” Minister Wilchcombe said. “So we are adding some new plays, and we are not going to share them right away. So we are going to be a better country. We are going to be a better tourism organization, and we are going to bring more people to our country.”

Minister Wilchcombe said there will be a focus on all islands, rather than on Nassau alone.

“We must remember that we represent The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, not a single island or a single hotel,” he said. “We represent all the hotels of this country and all the people of this country. We must ensure that all the hotels have occupancy levels that are high and all the hotels are doing well. And once they are doing well, that means that people are going to stay employed.”

Minister Wilchcome said he was confident that the Hotel Licensing Board would be given everything needed to carry out its work. He noted that a comprehensive workshop was arranged by the staff of the Ministry of Tourism’s Hotel Licensing Unit, which he said is doing an excellent job.

The workshop will be conducted over a period of four days.

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Sir Sidney Poitier – best known Bahamian – honored

The Bahamas Ministry of Foreign Affairs paid tribute to Bahamian actor and cinema icon Sir Sidney Poitier in an intimate ceremony that drew prominent Bahamian and American citizens in Los Angeles.

Sir Sidney, The Bahamas’ ambassador to UNESCO from 2002 to 2007 and ambassador to Japan from 1997 to 2007, was thanked for his contributions to film, pop culture and The Bahamas. Deputy Prime Minister of The Bahamas Philip Davis led the tributes by presenting Sir Sidney with a crystal plaque along with Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell.

“Every Bahamian grows up knowing of Sidney Poitier,” the Deputy Prime Minister said to guests at the event. “Every Bahamian knows the greatness of the man, achieved over an extraordinary lifetime, and Americans and Bahamians can agree: Sidney Poitier is one of a kind.”
Minister Davis said Sir Sidney has laid out an exemplary path that others can follow. The path suggests that those who want to be successful should work hard, study, be excellent and be honest, he said.

“His remarkable achievements in the motion picture business and in literature are a testament to what can be accomplished by a person brave and principled enough to follow this wise advice,” he said. “Sir Sidney has enhanced the cultural life of his two states of citizenship- the United States of America and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.”
Minister Mitchell said Sir Sidney is the best known of all Bahamians. However, he pointed out that his connection to The Bahamas is not as widely known in the world as would be expected.

Minister Mitchell said he was grateful to have gotten to know Sir Sidney as they worked together in an official capacity over the years. The time reinforced his iconic notion of Sir Sidney, he said.

“Some in this generation have asked ‘What has he done for The Bahamas?’ My answer is, ‘He is.’ That is enough,” Minister Mitchell said. “Even the blind can see. We are proud of this native son whose roots are strong in Cat Island and in Nassau.”

In response to the honor, Sir Sidney recalled the lives of his parents – Reginald and Evelyn Poitier. He attributed his character and accomplishments to their training.

“I have been a very, very successful actor,” he said. “But I could only be a successful actor, I believe, because I lived by the values I saw unfolding in them on a day by day basis. I honor you, our country and its citizens. I believe that there was a purpose to it all. I will not try to explain it to you because I can’t, but I will tell you that at the foundation of my life are these two people.”

Several of Sir Sidney’s family members, including residents of Nassau and Cat Island, Bahamas, attended the event. Other guests included Mychal Thompson, the Bahamian who won two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers; Rick Fox another former NBA star of Bahamian descent, who won three championships with the Lakers; and John Salley, former NBA star, actor and sports analyst.

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Bimini’s sweeping tailor

Though he has been a tailor for more than half a century, providing garments for President Richard Nixon and other prominent personalities, Howard Saunders has become even more famous for his part time work on Bimini. Day after day, the 81-year-old is seen throughout Bimini on what seems like a one-man crusade – sweeping Bimini into pristine condition as he voluntarily cleans areas of the island.

It is a job he has done every morning since 1958. He would get up, clean a block near his home then clean one further away. He does it, he says, because he loves doing it and he loves Bimini.

“My part time (job) is to keep the island of Bimini clean,” he says. “It is a beautiful island, but sometimes it is not as clean as I would like it.”

Already, Mr. Saunders has logged more than 16,000 days of work. By his conservative estimate, he has put in more than 3 million strokes with his tool of choice – the yard rake.

“I have done with the scratch rake, 3 million strokes,” he says. “I am doing that from Monday through Saturday and doing 900 strokes a day. I worked it out and it came to 3 million, not including Sundays. But that’s where it is at now.”

Mr. Saunders says the exercise keeps him healthy. It also satisfies him because he likes seeing Bimini looking tidy.

“I come on and I rake and I will push with the broom,” he says. “I push the sand out of the road with the broom, and that is one of the joys of my life, after church. Church is first and then your family and then the raking is third.”

Mr. Saunders believed there is often a challenge to keep the island clean because of a litter problem. At times, people simply dump items or throw trash on the ground, he says.

For him, it is natural to want to keep his island clean. He says it was instilled from him and his contemporaries from they were children.

“That is in me,” he says. “When I was a boy, we had to clean and clean every day. Then we would clean Saturday and you wouldn’t have to clean Sunday.”

Mr. Saunders hopes to return to the days when there was a greater sense of personal pride in one’s environment. He believes it would make it easier to keep the surroundings clean. Meanwhile, he plans to continue doing all he can to help for as long as he possesses good health and strength…at the rate of 900 strokes a day, seven days a week.

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Brookfield injects $25M into Atlantis

The conglomerate that acquired Atlantis has injected an additional $25 million in capital into the property after brokering a deal with Kerzner International.

The disclosure, included within Brookfield Asset Management’s interim report, details how a real estate fund – namely, Brookfield Real Estate Finance Fund – completed the $175 million debt-for-equity swap last April.

The report revealed how the total investment, however, was approximately $200 million, after an additional $25 million of capital was injected.  Brookfield Asset Management, the parent company, only contributed $70 million towards the Paradise Island takeover.

“Atlantis is owned by the Brookfield Real Estate Finance Fund, a former lender to the resort.  Brookfield Asset Management manages that fund, and is a major investor in the fund.  There are also a number of institutional investors in the Brookfield Real Estate Finance Fund,” said Andrew Willis, Brookfield’s senior vice-president of communications and media.  “What Bruce Flatt (CEO of Brookfield) explained in the Q2 shareholder letter is that Brookfield Real Estate Finance Fund took part in the transaction at Atlantis with a total value of $200 million, and of that total, Brookfield Asset Management’s share is $70 million.”

Willis was unable to elaborate on how the additional $25 million was spent at the mega resort.

George Markantonis, the president and managing director of Kerzner International (Bahamas), was unable to comment before press time.

However, Guardian Business understands that the renovation of 600 rooms in the Royal Towers is considered a major capital expenditure over the coming year.  The $25 million, however, would fall 50 percent short of the $50 million expected capital injection budget, as laid out by the government at the time for the transaction.

The former government also imposed certain employment expectations and a budget for marketing endeavors.

Listed in the New York Stock Exchange, the Canadian multinational generated $244 million of funds from operations and $272 million of total return for common shareholders during the quarter.

As with Atlantis, Brookfield’s objective is to invest in high-quality, simple-to-understand assets which earn a cash return on equity and high appreciation potential.  Low interest rates and hard economic times have only intensified the company’s hunt for valuable assets.

Back in April, Markantonis announced Brookfield was “open minded” concerning projects at the Paradise Island resort.  He confirmed to Guardian Business that apart from the Royal Towers, there are no plans for new attractions at the resort this year.

Brookfield also acquired a 100 percent equity interest in the One&Only Ocean Club through the deal with Kerzner International.

Jeffrey Todd
Guardian Business Editor
jeffrey@nasguard.com

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MOT embarks on private aircraft initiative

Attracting more business into The Bahamas with private airplanes is a goal for tourism officials, as it presently generates more than 400,000 room nights annually.

Greg Rolle, chief aviation specialist and pilot at the Ministry of Tourism, confirmed to Guardian Business that this specialized area accounts for more than 456,000 room nights on an annual basis, which he believes indicates that the sector generates a big chunk of business.  Rolle pointed out that the goal of his department is to educate as many professionals as possible in the aviation industry, particularly those in the Florida market, about the benefits of flying to The Bahamas.

“It’s all about educating the flying public, having a better understanding of who the traveling consumer is.”

The chief aviation specialist further told Guardian Business that the ministry has partnered with smaller airports which are fixed based operators (FBO), to encourage business through the aviation sector.

“An example of this would be Odyssey in Nassau.  Most of the private aircrafts funnel through FBOs to get their fuel, information, weather and flight plan.  We found out that a lot of these pilots would go to the front desk, to customer service professionals and ask them for information,” Rolle noted.

“Baring that in mind, we started to educate customer service individuals, so that when the pilot walks to the front desk and asks for information about flying to The Bahamas, they will be in a better position to tell them how it’s done, so that’s our main focus.”

While numbers have been promising over the years and most of the business is coming from locations in Florida, such as Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Orlando, he revealed that many pilots are still very concerned about the hefty additional costs that are associated with flying their aircrafts to The Bahamas.  It’s an issue Rolle said his team is looking to address.

“We have a lot of pilots who will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their aircraft, but when you consider various fees like landing fees, overnight fees, packing fees and even the departure tax they complain about, which has gone from $15 to $25, they believe we need to minimize these additional charges as much as possible.  These are some of the things that drive pilots away.  Prices in Grand Bahama are even higher.”

Tourism officials have planned a familiarization trip for a group of aviation professionals that could benefit from flying to The Bahamas.  The delegation will travel to Ft. Lauderdale, Grand Bahama, Great Harbour Cay, the Berry Islands, Georgetown, Exuma and San Salvador from August 16 to  19.

“Trips like these allow aviation professionals to see the product, so that they are able to speak with conviction once they go back because they have experienced it,” Rolle added.

Scieska Adderley
Guardian Business Reporter
scieska@nasguard.com

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Minister at AA Civil Rights Museum

Minister of Tourism, Hon. Obie Wilchcombe recently visited Memphis, Tennessee to attend the 51st Annual Session of the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC).

 

During his visit, Minister Wilchcombe toured the African American Civil Rights Museum; he is pictured viewing a Klu Klux Klan display at the museum.

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Tourism Minister Launches Bahamas Speed Week 2012

Bahamas Speed Week organizers have added more components to this year’s event in hopes of achieving its five-year plan to make it the “must do social event” of the year.

One priority for these wealthy gearheads is the inclusion of vendors at Arawak Cay. Organizers are working feverishly to develop and improve Speed Week, which means, among other things, creating a race route that would allow spectators easy access to the vendors during the race.

Instead of racing through Arawak Cay, participants will drive their antique race cars behind the restaurants.

At the official launch during at a press conference yesterday, Minister of Tourism, Obie Wilchcombe stressed the value of having the support of the local community.

“I believe your involvement of the vendors and the Bahamian people generally, is without question, the right thing to do,” the Minister said. “If the people aren’t involved then you are likely not be as successful as you want to be”.

Minister Wilchcombe said his Ministry will make greater contributions in marketing the event to ensure international exposure is maximized. He also mentioned that tourism officials are aware of the ripple effect Speed Week can have resulting in more investments for the country.

Bahamas Speed Week 2012, which is a series of social, racing and cultural events, will be held between November 24 and December 2. This time period was chosen to generate business during this typically slow tourism season.

According to Speed Week President, Jimmie Lowe “everything is bigger, better, faster and more ambitious this year starting with the schedule”.

Speed Week 2012 will kick off with a concert on November 24 and the Miss Bahamas Speed Week pageant will be held the following day. Organizers have also increased go-karting activities, which Mr. Lowe said, is how many race drivers get started.
Other activities include a 007 Island Tour, Pictect Gala Ball and Auction of Promises, which will raise funds for Bahamian charities.

Ticket prices to watch the race at Arawak Cay are 30 dollars for general admission.

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Harbour Island Tourism Sector Resilient Despite Economy

HARBOUR Island’s tourism sector has been holding its own despite a slow economy according to Betty Bethel, tourism general manager of North Eleuthera and Harbour Island who said that some operators had reported numbers exceeding last year’s performance.

“Harbour Island does a very good job of marketing itself. It’s established itself as a high end destination. I won’t say it is recession proof but certainly while the rest of the Bahamas suffered from the slow economy Harbour Island has continued to hold its own,” said Bethel.

“Many of the operators expected not to have as good a season as they did coming off the slow economy but they have reported to me that their numbers have been very good and in some instances exceed last year. It’s a resilient area of our tourism product in the Bahamas and it’s an area that we always have to pay a lot of attention to because it’s where the revenue that’s generated from tourism is highest, in that part of the tourism product,” said Bethel.

Bethel added: “It’s certainly right up there with the revenue that’s generated across the board in the Bahamas. While we have small boutique properties you are looking at average room rates of a minimum of $250 a night and that’s kind of your high end budget properties so the resorts use the slow season when they close around late August and September to refurbish their properties, give vacations and do training so they could maintain their standards, maintain their rates and service delivery.”

Bethel said that ensuring that visitor experience matched the destination was important.

“My initiatives are really to make sure that the experience that the visitors have match the destination and Harbour Island is a really high end product. Right now we are engaged in Bahamas ‘host training’ to elevate the service levels again to complement the hotel product that’s on the island. I am spending time looking for activities that really meet the needs of the customers. One of them I have identified is an art and wine festival and I will be partnering with Bahamas National Trust so it will take place on the US Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The response from artists throughout Eleuthera and around the Bahamas has been overwhelming.”

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

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Ministry Allocates $20-$30k To Boost Small Hotel Vision

The Ministry of Tourism is allocating $20,000-$30,000 to help provide small hotel properties, particularly in the southern Bahamas, with the technical support to improve their marketing and on-line visibility.

David Johnson, the Ministry of Tourism’s director-general, said these resorts were challenged by the lack of an effective on-line distribution system.

He added that $20,000-$30,000 was being allocated to a fund to provide the necessary support.

Mr Johnson told Tribune Business: “With the southern islands there are some distribution issues for the smaller hotels, and we have committed that we will contribute to a fund that will enable them to have a much more effective distribution system and, with that, improve their marketing because awareness is also a challenge for them.

“It’s not much more than $20,000 or $30,000 to provide them with the technical support to get them in the digital realm with their booking solutions and their website. That is what we are talking about. We have agreed that in principal. This is really for the smaller hotels within the Family Islands, and most of them are in the south-east islands.”

Charity Armbrister, tourism director for the central and southern Bahamas, acknowledged that web-driven booking engines were a challenge.

“When visitors go on-line to book a flight to the Bahamas, and then they want to connect to one of the islands, there is no real global booking engine for them and so they don’t get to see Pineapple Air, Western Air or Southern Air for example,” said Ms Armbrister.

“We are still struggling with a lot of the further southern islands, and that’s largely because of the challenge we have with airlift. Until we can really fix the airlift into the southern islands it’s going to be difficult for them to be where we think they ought to be. We have persons coming in from the UK, for example, and the connecting flights are just not there and they have to overnight in Nassau. That’s really not what they want to do. They are coming into the island and they want to get there as quickly and as inexpensively as they can.”

Mr Johnson told Tribune Business: “The airlift solution will take some time, but with these rebate programmes we are offering we are looking to make an adjustment because their airfares are even higher than that of the other islands. We are reviewing how we can make an adjustment to the amount of the rebate in order to make them more competitive.”

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

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Junior Minister begins tourism mentorship

Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe began a mentorship process with Junior Minister Iant’a Stubbs by introducing her to his senior staff. Minister Wilchcombe, Tourism Director General David Johnson and Permanent Secretary Dr. Patricia Rodgers met with Ms. Stubbs, welcoming her to the Ministry of Tourism.

Ms. Stubbs emerged as the leader of the annual Junior Minister of Tourism competition in April, earning the national title and entitling her to understudy Minister Wilchcombe for a year. She is a student of Anatol Rodgers Secondary School. As a good mentor, Minister Wilchcombe pointed out that Ms. Stubbs’ school carries the name of Dr. Rodgers’ mother.

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Bahamas explores film collaborations

The Bahamas Film and Television Commission entered talks with film commissions from around the world recently, with possible film collaborations in view.

The Bahamas was one of the delegates participating in the II Encounter of Filmmakers from Africa, Brazil, the Caribbean and their Diasporas (Cinema ABCD), which was held July 15-18 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The meetings brought relevant organizations together to focused on the mechanisms that would enable co-productions between the countries of the region and their various diaspora. This would result in more film and television products being developed for screening in member states.

Delegates also concentrated on consolidation of cinematography from Africa, Brazil and the Caribbean to encourage their governments to pledge full support through the articulation of cultural policies that promote and support production, distribution and exhibition.

Countries participating in the gathering included Aruba, Angola, Barbados, Burkina Fasso, Cuba, Mali, Trinidad & Tobago, Egypt, Cape Verde, Senegal, Mozambique, Jamaica, Haiti, Suriname, Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe. Prominent actors attending the event included American actors Tim Reid and Danny Glover along with Dominican actor, Juan Fernandez. Dominican president, Leonel Fernandez also made several appearances during the meetings.

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Tour teaches tourism

NASSAU (July 20, 2012) – Participants in the Ministry of Tourism’s Summer Employment Program got more familiar with the tourism product through a tour of Nassau’s historic landmarks.

The tour included visits to Fort Charlotte, Fort Fincastle, the Queen’s Staircase and the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, where the summer staff took part in the “Paint Like Amos Ferguson” activity. The Summer Employment Program concludes on July 27, after its participants would have gained substantial knowledge about The Bahamas’ tourism industry.

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