The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Andros Chamber of Commerce president says the island experienced “significant growth” in 2021 with vacation homes and the retail sector leading the way.

Darrin Bethel, speaking at the Andros Business Outlook seminar, said: “Despite the challenges, I can report to you today that in the past year we have experienced significant economic growth; new establishments, investments in vacation rental homes, expansion in the retail sector by new and existing businesses. We have practically doubled the amount of service stations throughout the island section of North Andros.”

Suggesting that there was renewed hope and optimism on Andros, as economic activity expands with a pick-up in both domestic and foreign direct investment (FDI), Mr Bethel also hailed efforts by Latia Duncombe, the Ministry of Tourism’s acting director-general, to spur community-based tourism so that more of the industry’s economic impact can be felt by at the grassroots level.

“We have confidence that the director-general’s plan will assist our communities in getting greater benefits and more revenue from the fly fishing industry,” he added. Leaning on past efforts to develop a sustainable master development plan for Andros, Mr Bethel added: “Food security is national security” and encouraged the Davis administration to “return to that plan”.

He said: “Let’s engage and re-engage on the island’s plan so we can truly wake up the sleeping giant by accelerating our growth and development. We should review the plan and set targets to double to $140m in revenue generated from eco-tourism. Allow us to double this amount in 10 years to realise the opportunity. We must train new professionals to support our product.”

Such training, Mr Bethel added, should include regular certifications for bird guides, fly fishing guides, scuba divers and deep sea fishing, along with other service and entertainment-related professionals. “We have a few great programmes like BahamaHost, but why not expand to collaborate with organisations such as the Bahamas Fly Fishing Association to create a world-class certification; a certification that can become the gold standard for the world, adapting the programme that has already been developed? That will contribute to the expansion and improvement of our already-strong fly-fishing industry,” Mr Bethel said.