NASSAU, Bahamas — A top hotelier believes The Bahamas’ “proactive” approach to COVID-19 testing and health protocols will enable its tourism industry to rebound faster than its competitors, The Tribune reported on Thursday, January 21, in an article written by Business Editor Neil Hartnell.
Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) newly-elected president, told Tribune Business that he was confident that the nation’s largest industry will repeat its trend of “coming back stronger and stronger” from adversity as COVID-19 vaccines roll-out across its major source travel markets.
Responding to the latest travel restrictions facing The Bahamas – namely, the US requirement that all returning travellers produce a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of their trip from January 26 — Mr Sands echoed the Ministry of Tourism by asserting that its five-day rapid antigen testing infrastructure would enable visitors to meet this obligation.
“The Bahamas is well-positioned for dealing with a number of these new considerations for tourists re-entering the US,” he told The Tribune. “A large number of our properties already offer the antigen test when guests stay more than five days, or for entering the property when they arrive.
“We have to put these issues into perspective. This is not the first time a destination like The Bahamas as been faced with some conditions that may seem like they will stifle tourism. Tourism is extremely resilient, and the Bahamian product has improved over the years. Notwithstanding these issues we are faced with, with are focused on a proactive approach to dealing with them and rebounding.”
Mr Sands said The Bahamas and its tourism industry had overcome the September 11 terror attacks, two Gulf wars and numerous recessions before, although nothing like a global pandemic. “We have had some setbacks, but have come back and continued to grow,” he added.
“We’ve had impacts from hurricanes, but have come back stronger and stronger. We are proactive in addressing these issues. They are beyond our control, but The Bahamas’ approach in being proactive in addressing things like this positions us as beneficiaries of growth in a shorter period of time than our competitors.”
Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, recently told Tribune Business that The Bahamas is pushing “to be at the front of the queue” should the US introduce exemptions from its new COVID-19 testing policy, acknowledging that it threatens to be “a significant deterrent” to tourism.
He said this country and the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean were moving rapidly to make the case to US authorities that any exemption from tightened pandemic enforcement “should be offered to us” first as a region. See complete Tribune article at http://www.tribune242.com/news/2021/jan/21/bahamas-rebound-faster-its-rivals/
