The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Minister of Tourism says that while cruise passenger spend in the Bahamas has increased, this nation must offer more visitor experiences to increase per capita yields.

Obie Wilchcombe was responding to the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association’s (FCCA) tri-annual survey, which revealed that despite an increase in per capita spending, from $64.81 in 2012 to $82.83 this year, total passenger expenditure in the Bahamas’ two main cities has remained stubbornly flat.

“We don’t set the cost for the cruise lines to come. I believe that is determined internally,” the Minister said. “When the visitor arrives to the Bahamas, I believe that our cost at the various hotels might be a bit higher than some of the other destinations but, at the end, we are seeing an increase in spending.

“The spending per capita has increased from $64 in 2012 to $84 this year. That is very significant, but what it means is we have to create more things for people to do. We know that and we are working on that.”

Mr Wilchcombe added: “We have to get the tourists to spend more, and the only way to do that is to expand and improve the product. We have to have more tours and more things for visitors to do generally.

“Then, we have to ensure that we are delivering a quality of product for the visitors to participate in. There must be a determined effort to get every visitor off the cruise ship. We have to improve the product. We have to ensure that we are the best in the world.

“We can’t accept being number two, three, four or five, and to be the best means your product has to be the best. That’s inclusive of taxi service, the restaurants and the hotels. We have, in my view, seen an incredible growth, but we have not always kept pace with the growth.”

According to the FCCA survey, total cruise passenger spending in Nassau and Freeport rose by just 0.8 per cent between 2012 and this year- from $241.5 million to $243.5 million.

And both the per capita yield and total spend by ship’s crews disembarking in the two cities has declined between 2012 and 2015, according to the FCCA survey.

Crew spending per head was down by 45.9 per cent, at $60 compared to $111 in 2012, while their total spending was also off - this time by 24.7 per cent, falling from $79.3 million to $59.7 million.

“Cruise lines are bringing visitors for a day or so. We need to them to come back,” Mr Wilchcombe said. “Therefore we have to do more to get them to come back.

“Our domestic product is the reason people come to experience the Bahamas, and it must be improved upon. We are working on ensuring that Pompey Square comes alive every day. We are ensuring that Festival Place improves, and we want to get more Bahamians involved in the restaurant business and entertainment business.”