The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

It is truly said that “it is an ill wind that blows nobody any good”.

Bay Street was popping like the old days last week, and it seems that due to the adverse weather conditions and the recent terrible experience of that New York cruise that went bad, the operators of at least two very upmarket cruise ships, changed itineraries and called in to Nassau.

As one of the verses of George Symonette’s Calypso would say “Tourist Money Never Done”. Such was the shopping on Bay Street last week.

But that is a one in a million event these days, as most times the ships that come to Nassau bring people who can barely afford the cruise fare, and just walk in and out of the shops and never buy even a tee shirt anymore.

So the question that begs asking is what research and choice does our Ministry or Tourism, and Chamber of Commerce exercise in the selection of which ships come and which don’t.

Surely that would be their jobs, to maximise the benefit to the country from a visiting ship.

Obviously, there are high end cruise passengers still, and maybe we can find a way to lure them to our shores deliberately, rather than accidentally.

BRUCE G. RAINE

Nassau,

February 23, 2016.