The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A Bahamian tourism expert said that the high energy and labour costs, as well as the high airport and fuel costs – which are impeding the rate of tourism growth in Grand Bahama – must be addressed now, especially as Cuba prepares to reopen to US travellers.

David Johnson, CEO of Bahamas Tourism Development Corporation, said he was recently informed that operating costs in Cuba are more than 60 per cent less than on Grand Bahama.

“I reached out to Sunwing’s CEO to obtain from them a sense of how they viewed Grand Bahama’s future potential given the projected changes surrounding Cuba’s unrestricted reopening to US travellers,” he said last week at the Grand Bahama Business Outlook.

Mr Johnson said Sunwing CEO Stephen Hunter believes that a lifting of the US embargo would bring both challenges and opportunities to Grand Bahama.

The Sunwing Travel Group is the largest integrated travel company in North America, comprised of Sunwing Vacations, a leading leisure tour operator in Canada, and Sunwing Airlines, Canada’s premier leisure airline. The company operates Memories Resort in Grand Bahama and provides airlift to Freeport from several Canadian and US gateways.

According to Mr Johnson, Mr Hunter reported that in the last two years Cuba has built about ten state of the art marinas, nine new golf courses, added over 5,000 new rooms and have 14 new hotel projects scheduled for completion this year.

He said Mr Hunter further noted that as operating costs in Cuba are more than 60 per cent less than Grand Bahama, a lot of ferry, personal boats, and cruise traffic will be diverted to Cuba in the medium and long-term, and would undoubtedly hurt Grand Bahama.

Mr Johnson said Mr Hunter thinks that the ‎biggest threat to Grand Bahama is the high cost of energy and consumables (duty taxes).

“Our high energy and labour costs are a deterrent to the pace of growth we wish to see and must be addressed sooner rather than later,” warned Mr Johnson.

“High airport and fuel costs which we have in Grand Bahama, never mind anyone who might be misinformed suggesting otherwise, is a hurdle to attracting the additional competitively priced airlift we wish for and need in order to grow our vital air stop over arrivals,” he said.

“If we can trim our costs sufficiently, that is, energy and airport related costs, while upgrading service levels, so that we can earn the premium to support our higher labour cost, I guarantee you that the existing closed room stock will swiftly be returned and the potential to attract new development in the East, Freeport/Lucaya, and West will be quickly realised.”

Mr Johnson said attention should also be on sustaining, as well as building on the momentum achieved over the past 12 months of a 33 per cent growth rate in stop over, or more than 20 per cent points above the country’s average.