By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
A BLOG post naming the Bahamas one of the ten most disappointing destinations in the world has been “liked” more than 20,000 times on Facebook and shared more than 3500 times.
The Huffington Post’s travel blog on Monday highlighted a story from smartertravel.com which singled out Gilbraltar, Niagara Falls, Temple Bar (Dublin), Hollywood (California), Liberty Island (New York), Frankfurt (Germany), Disney World, Casablanca (Morocco), Las Vegas and the Bahamas as popular destinations unworthy of the hype they supposedly attract.
“These popular but disappointing destinations are more letdown than must-see,” the post said, adding: “Around 1 million cruise-ship passengers visit Nassau each year. Do you really want to go to a place where a million bloated and sunburned cruisers disembark, blinking into the sun as they contemplate the possibility of spending hours away from organised activities and an all-you-can-eat buffet?”
According to TripAdvisor reviews, visitors should expect to be “constantly harassed for money”.
More than 300 people have commented under the post. Yesterday, the Director General of Tourism David Johnson told The Tribune his Ministry is “always concerned” about such negative publicity, adding that the Ministry frequently receives harassment complaints from visitors.
“We do get complaints from visitors about vendors being too aggressive. Sometimes our vendors are a bit too aggressive on Bay Street and in the high traffic areas that have lots of harassment and, to a lesser extent, some parts of Grand Bahama.
“Sometimes, the peace and quiet of the beach is interrupted by vendors when the tourist just wants peace.
“We monitor these things and we have our own staff that try to play a role along with the police and we take action if needed.”
Nonetheless, Mr Johnson said harassment is not among the type of complaints about the Bahamas that tourists make the most.
“People complain about the appearance and the availability of things in Nassau. Bay Street has been a challenge for us and there has been an issue with the surrey drivers which had a season of attracting significant amount of criticism.
“Regarding things particularly appealing, we’ve gotten strong, positive feedback about Fish Fry, something that adds a local flair to people’s experiences. And taking the number 10 bus is, you’d be surprised, another very popular experience.
“I’d be shocked if we are in the top 30 or 50 most disappointing destinations.”
Comments
Thinker 10 years ago
Well, if all else sucks, at least there's Fish Fry?
ThisIsOurs 10 years ago
Sadly, it's true. Someone with vision could turn it around...but we are currently visionless. I don't know that many people come to the Bahamas looking for some slick destination with monstrous resorts, they want an ISLAND getaway. A clean island experience. Long Wharf is soooo disappointing to me, I have no idea what the Ministry of Works is allowing there, every week it seems another clapboard hut is hastily constructed, it's an eyesore...can't they see that? So is Arawak Cay, it's a popular Bahamian location, but it's an eyesore, absolutely no construction standards..just an attempt to cram as many vendors in as possible. Then there are the signs...they're everywhere, haphazardly erected, highways medians, hillsides, street corners, roundabouts...it's a disgrace. We're proud when we get an opportunity to showcase the .bahamas at the Super Bowl but what will come of it? To me it just means more people will experience first hand how unready the product really is. the relays are coming and we look like a dump site one month out.....Improve the product and you won't have to hype it. People will talk about how great it is, that is the best kind of publicity...other people's opinions.
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