The Tribune

Vendors lament the economic plight for business at the International Bazaar which was once the island’s premier tourist attraction . . .

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

BEAULAH Dean, a straw vendor of more than 30 years at Freeport’s International Bazaar, said most days she leaves her stall without enough money for a return bus fare to Eight Mile Rock.

“When I come out here it makes me want to cry –- we are hurting,” said Ms Dean, one of the few vendors at the site.

“I leave from Eight Mile Rock to come out here every day. I have been a vendor for 30 something years, and this is the worst. You could hardly buy something to eat; I can’t even pay for my bus fare sometimes,” she told The Tribune.

Another vendor, who did not wish to give her name, said that the International Bazaar is a far cry from what it once was in the early days.

Before 2004, vendors and merchants made a good living at the site, which was the island’s premier tourist attraction. However, when the Royal Oasis Resort closed because of severe hurricane damage in 2004, many of the merchants and vendors at the International Bazaar were also affected.

Elizabeth Fowler, another vendor, said: “Nothing is happening (out) here.”

Ms Fowler said that if the hotel reopens it would breathe life back into the International Bazaar.

“The people are suffering in Freeport. I never saw Freeport like this ever. They need to open the hotel and fix up the place because this area is in a poor state,” she said.

Joycelyn Green, a vendor at the International Bazaar who The Tribune found sitting outside her booth making straw purses, declined to comment but invited The Tribune inside the booth to show off her creative handiwork.

The booth is stocked with lovely handmade straw bags and purses, and a table laden with pretty conch shells for sale.

Further down was Sheila Glinton, who only recently opened a booth.

“I have been here less than a year; we make no money. The tour buses and taxi drivers are not bringing the tourists out here.”

The decline of the once bustling tourist attraction has even garnered negative reaction from visitors, with many of them leaving poor reviews on international travel website TripAdvisor.

“This is so sad,” an American from Denver, Colorado wrote in April. “Last time we were there, we had so much fun shopping and visiting the people. This time the Bazaar is all but closed down. The hurricanes have decimated this area, there is hardly anything open now. The is damage to almost all of the stores. I’m not sure it will recover. Very sad.”

In February, a Canadian visitor wrote: “This would be such a cool place to visit but it sure is run down. We were there three years ago and this (February) and nothing has changed. I think the island should fix it up as it would be great for tourists to come and visit with bars and restaurants and shops. Time will tell, I’m sure it would be cheap to do.”

Last October, another visitor described the site as “run down” and “seedy” while advising tourists not to visit the area.

And in February 2016, another resident of Colorado said the International Bazaar was a “ghost town.”

“This used to be a bustling area of local sales,” the visitor wrote. “Sadly, there’s just a few local vendors there with many empty stores and buildings.”

The attraction has a two star rating overall on TripAdvisor.

Mick Holding, president of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, said the International Bazaar and other nearby businesses lost their primary customer base when the former Royal Oasis Resort was severely damaged by Hurricane Frances in 2004.

“Neither the hotel nor the casino have opened since,” he said. “Today, 13 years later the two hotels and the casino are in a very poor condition and very probably past the point of repair.”

Mr Holding thinks that the only sensible thing to do would be to demolish the entire complex.

He noted that while parts of the International Bazaar remain open, most businesses have closed and “the whole site is in a sorry state of repair.”

“I am not sure of the legal status of the ownership of the hotel properties, but government or the Grand Bahama Port Authority should bring pressure on the owners to either rebuild the hotels or sell to someone who will. I am sure that this has been tried over the past 13 years but obviously without success.

“Along with resolving the issues with the Grand Lucayan Hotel this should be seen as a priority for the new administration to both clean up the derelict site near the heart of the city and to revitalise the tourism sector on Grand Bahama,” the chamber president said.

Mr Holding said it is excellent news that the Minister of State for Grand Bahama Kwasi Thompson has opened discussions with Harcourt Development, which purchased the damaged resort property for $33 million.