Tourism Development Corporation (TDC) CEO David Johnson has claimed that The Bahamas' tourism sector currently uses less than 40 percent of the country's total capacity, while calling for increased Bahamian investment in the tourism sector.
And a diagnosis of the country's tourism industry conducted by Ministry of Tourism officials suggested that insufficient airlift is the chief issue across the sector, particularly for the Family Islands.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Tourism Director General Joy Jibrilu touted tourism as an engine of socioeconomic development in a statement released on World Tourism Day (September 27).
"At the Ministry of Tourism, we see not only tourism's ability to generate jobs, but also tourism's ability to improve the socioeconomic development of The Bahamas, to be an outlet for the creative and business aspirations of the Bahamian people," Jibrilu noted.
He said the Ministry of Tourism is focusing on "encouraging creative industry and entrepreneurship".
"We want to see Bahamians owning businesses that serve the tourism market and sharing their culture, history, art and crafts with our many visitors," she added.
Certainly this ties in with Johnson's assertion that The Bahamas must lessen its dependency on foreign direct investment. Speaking at the Abaco Business Outlook last week, Johnson outlined the TDC's development plan, which focuses on promoting local investment in the industry throughout The Bahamas and providing linkages to other aspects of the economy.
"The need to attract a much greater percentage of Bahamian ownership and generating the use of more Bahamian products underscores our business objectives. We need more Bahamians investing in the sector," said Johnson.
The core tenets of the TDC - a new organ in the Ministry of Tourism - are to "develop objectives and execute strategies to return The Bahamas to its previous leadership position in the region".
Johnson told attendees in Abaco that the health of Abaco's tourism industry was largely an "exception" to the rule, and was due to the strength of vacation home ownership on the island. Still, even in Abaco he said, further local investment was required.
"We are using in tourism less than 40 percent of our capacity of the entire Bahamas. We need to understand that there are business models that investors prefer, and we need to sharpen our negotiations to ensure that we are competitive in attracting investment," said Johnson.
Johnson claimed that increasing airlift capacity was a critical component of these strategies along with encouraging local investment and stated that the TDC hoped to focus on Bahamasair as an "economic driver" to consolidate domestic airlift and expand its services beyond southern Florida.
Deputy Director of the Ministry of Tourism Ellison Thompson said insufficient airlift remained the chief issue for the sector across the country, particularly in the Family Islands.
"Chief of these [issues] is inadequate and expensive airlift in getting to destinations. You have poor and decaying infrastructure. Marsh Harbour is better, but Treasure Cay is still a challenge. This is not just a problem for Abaco, but for a number of the Family Islands."
Government officials have addressed the need for improved airport facilities and increased airlift through a recent drive for public-private partnerships (PPPs) aimed at constructing airports throughout the Family Islands. The government is currently accepting expressions of interest until the end of September, though no proposals have yet been officially announced.

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