The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Atlantis’s top executive yesterday warned that the Bahamas could not afford “anything that tarnishes the brand”, conceding that the US government’s latest crime report “certainly doesn’t help” the tourism industry.

George Markantonis, Brookfield Hospitality’s president and director, acknowledged that he was “concerned” about the US State Department’s 2015 ‘Crime and Safety’ analysis, which branded the New Providence crime threat as ‘critical’.

In response, Mr Markantonis said the Bahamas needed to “make public” everything it was doing to combat current crime levels.

He added that it was “no secret” that Atlantis left warning letters in the hotel rooms of all its guests, urging them not to use the services of jet ski operators and other beach vendors who were not part of its operations, due to “problems” experienced in the

Mr Markantonis then called for a collective community effort by all Bahamas-based stakeholders to “keep chipping away at”, and ultimately eradicate, the crime problem.

“I am concerned about it,” the Atlantis chief told Tribune Business of the US State Department’s report. “It certainly doesn’t help us.

“We have to make sure we make public all the efforts we are taking to make sure the crime problem is resolved. It’s no secret that we have warning letters in our rooms about some of the services offered.”

Asked by Tribune Business to explain this, Mr Markantonis added: “It’s public that we have warning letters in our rooms advising people not to use motorised vehicles on the beach because they are not part of the hotel.

“We’ve had numerous problems with jet ski operators and those sorts of things.”

Mr Markantonis said Atlantis possessed a large security force and canine unit that was constantly patrolling the resort’s grounding and surrounding areas on Paradise Island, especially after dark.

He suggested that the US State Department’s report failed to account for these efforts, and the fact violent crime was largely confined to non-tourist areas in New Providence.

“When we see these reports, they are concerning because they don’t reflect the overall security situation of Nassau,” Mr Markantonis said. “Of course there are pockets where crime is worse than others.”

This was a characteristic shared by the world’s major cities, such as London and New York, and there appears to be no specific targeting of tourists by criminals in the Bahamas.

This was conceded by the US State Department’s report, which conceded: “The majority of violent crimes reported were perpetrated against local Bahamians, and these occurred in areas of inundated criminality not typically frequented by tourists.”

However, it quickly cited incidents where US citizens were victims. “Despite arduous government anti-crime incentives, during the past several months New Providence has witnessed a significant increase of violent armed crimes in locations heavily patronised by US citizens. In many instances, these incidents have resulted in fatalities,” the US State Department report said.

“In 2014, the Royal Bahamas Police Force reported several incidents that either involved tourists or occurred in well-known tourist locations. Specifically, crimes were reported near popular tourist attractions close to the cruise ship port (Prince George Wharf) and the Cable Beach resort areas.

“While there is no evidence that US citizens have been targeted directly, criminals have progressively become more brazen and creative in their methods. For example, three armed robberies of US citizens occurred in daylight hours in heavily frequented tourist areas, including an armed assailant assaulting and robbing a woman walking near Ardastra Gardens.

“In mid-October, during daylight hours in a heavily populated area, two men armed with handguns robbed customers waiting in a restaurant’s drive-through line. Armed assailants have placed items in the street as impromptu roadblocks so unassuming drivers would stop and could be robbed,” the report added.

“A man was shot at Potter’s Cay, near the base of the Paradise Island Bridge, at a time when tourists would be frequenting the area. Three Embassy employees were injured in robberies. A member of the US military was injured during an altercation at a popular lounge/restaurant heavily frequented by tourists.”

Mr Markantonis, meanwhile, said Nassau’s crime problems seemed to both be amplified by the media and “be a major focus for the cruise ships”.

“We have to keep chipping away at it as a community,” the Atlantis chief said of solutions to crime. “This is not just a police problem. We all have to contribute to reducing it.”

Mr Markantonis said the US State Department report would not spark any sudden drop in Atlantis’s bookings, and was unlikely to deter persons from visiting the Bahamas by itself.

He agreed, though, that there was greater awareness of crime and related problems among tourists, and they would be comparing the Bahamas to other island destinations.

“We don’t want anything to tarnish the Bahamas’ brand,” Mr Markantonis told Tribune Business. “We don’t want any shadows on that as such.”

The US State Department’s report could not have come at a worse time for the Bahamas, given that the opening of the $3.5 billion Baha Mar development is just over four weeks away.

With this nation seeking to attract an extra 400,000 annual stopover visitors to fill the extra 2,200 rooms at Cable Beach, the Bahamas cannot afford anything that might deter tourists from selecting this nation - especially in its key source markets.

More than 80 per cent of the Bahamas’ current stopover visitors come from the US, chiefly the Florida and north-east markets. While efforts are underway to diversify this nation’s source markets, that will take time, and for the moment Americans remain the Bahamas’ ‘bread and butter’.

Stuart Bowe, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, echoed Mr Markantonis’s comments and warned that increased crime could deter potential visitors from selecting this nation for a vacation.

“The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) acknowledges the importance of visitors having positive experiences in the Bahamas,” Mr Bowe said in an e-mail to Tribune Business.

“This includes a high standard of customer service, value for money and, most importantly, safety and security during their stay.

“Reports of increased levels of crime in the Bahamas impacts potential visitor perceptions of safety and could influence their choice of destination. The BHTA continues to work with public and private sector partners to address any perception of crime and safety in the Bahamas.”