EXECUTIVE BLASTS BAHAMIANS’ LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH INDUSTRY
NASSAU, Bahamas — Bahamians have long maintained a “love/hate” relationship with the tourism sector and continue to disrespect it while seeking out alternative industries, a former Tourism Director General has stated.
Vernice Walkine, the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) chief executive and former Tourism director general, argued that the tourism industry has served The Bahamas well, and has proven to be the most ‘resilient’ industry despite being adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, EYEWITNESS NEWS, an online Nassau-based news medium, reported on September 25, 2020.
Walkine was a guest at the Financial Voice forum. She further argued that Bahamians have not held greater ownership in the sector because it has been deemed to be ‘fickle’, adding the country has yet to fully maximize on the sector’s benefits.
“Bahamians have a love/hate relationship with tourism,” she said. “It’s that thing we do but we don’t enjoy doing it. We have not maximized on tourism but we are looking for alternatives, as if we don’t want to be in the industry. It’s the largest growth industry in the world. Why would we who have a natural advantage not take advantage of those unique features and benefits that we have? Bahamians for a long time have not wanted to own this industry because they considered it to be fickle, temporary, something we are doing while we wait for something else.” See full EYEWITNESS NEWS article at https://ewnews.com/replace-tourism-not-in-our-lifetime-says-former-director-general?fbclid=IwAR3is3727m8Pf_GU_EoOEJk0WqcGa4ytb-shupSpbn0Nc1r8-Kui9McHZaQ
