Minister of Tourism and Aviation Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace deserves high marks for his successes since assuming these portfolios. He has made strides in both areas despite the worldwide economic downturn which reduced tourism receipts and numbers. He has also had to contend with turmoil in the airline industry and a tourism bureaucracy in need of new thinking.
From his days as director general of the Department of Tourism he has long pressed for and has now been greatly assisted in his efforts by the current and ambitious program to modernize and transform the tourism infrastructure, the rationale and scope of which the prime minister outlined in a national address some months ago.
These infrastructural upgrades, long in coming, include the development of a new international airport for New Providence, the Gateway Road Project, the beginning of the revitalization of downtown Nassau, a new straw market and other upgrades on our capital island.
At the other islands of The Bahamas, which the minister and his team are now branding with more individual flavor, other infrastructural projects are in train for the benefit of Bahamians and visitors.
Marsh Harbour, the second busiest air gateway in terms of tourism numbers, is set to get a new airport and become one of the finest small airports in the region. It should not be forgotten the greater number of international airports The Bahamas has to upgrade and maintain in comparison to other Caribbean countries.
From Glass Window Bridge in Eleuthera to proposed new health care facilities in Exuma and road works in Acklins, "It's getting better in The Bahamas" has taken on a new currency. Our archipelagic nature, though presenting various challenges to national development is an extraordinary strategic advantage.
Minister Vanderpool-Wallace has often articulated his vision of tourism as a critical element of national development and as a force multiplier for ongoing diversification within the tourism industry and across industries.
Towards this end he has, as a matter of necessity, relentlessly focused on air links to and within the archipelago, as well as sea links connecting the islands in the chain and the chain to the world. He has also done so in recognition of the entrepreneurial and job opportunities for Bahamians.
The difference between what cruise and air passengers spend is obvious and clear. Not as clear to some are the differences in the economics of Bahamian tourism as compared to other Caribbean destinations. The tourism chief has had to focus on the benefits of both to the economy in general and to the overall tourism product.
In his dogged effort to increase airlift, the Minister has had to contend with consumer confidence in the U.S. as well as some observers who have conveniently ignored his efforts as well as facts on the ground. He has taken his less honest critics in stride. But airline and hotel executives as well as his staff have no doubts about his feverish efforts to increase the number of air passengers and hotel occupancy.
The aviation minister employed his renowned energy and creativity to expand airlift, including new services such as Air Canada and other global players to Exuma. JetBlue has now announced another nonstop flight to Nassau from the greater New York area (Westchester) beginning in November. It will mark the first regularly scheduled flight from that airport to anywhere in the region.
It is easy to forget that the declines the country felt in terms of stop-over-visitors and air arrivals were a result of the loss of the most lucrative part of the tourism business to The Bahamas namely the corporate group and incentive business from the U.S. market. It appears that the upturn in group business will be seen as early as this fall continuing into 2012.
It also appears that the July, August and September quarter is forecasted to be much stronger than last year as evidenced by both Atlantis and Baha Mar keeping all of their current inventory open as opposed to the closures of the Beach Tower and Wyndham, respectively, last year. There are also forecasted increases in room revenues in this quarter.
One of the greater game changers for tourism and the economy envisioned by the Minister of Tourism and Aviation is the expansion of business and tourism travel from Latin America to The Bahamas
With his successful negotiation of the new air link between Panama and Nassau that dream is being fulfilled through Copa Airlines. It is already exceeding forecasts from Latin America already having had more than six flights with aircraft that were larger than originally committed to the new route.
If sustained, the initiative will be one of the more groundbreaking efforts ever by a Tourism chief. It would provide regular service from Latin America to The Bahamas especially for potentially lucrative markets in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and other countries. It may serve the greatly valued market of high-end tourists, business travellers particularly in financial services, and other high net worth individuals.
It bodes well for our tourism industry that when it is summer in our traditional markets in North America and Europe that it is winter in some of the South American countries from which we will be seeking visitors. The burgeoning middle class in the Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are potentially lucrative markets.
In partnership with others, the Minister has ensured the removal of the visa barrier for a host of countries as well as worked to market the Bahama Isles to Latin Americans who may want a different vacation, one more similar to European tourists who prefer a more leisurely and culturally rich experience.
This may include marketing Grand Bahama in a different fashion for Latin Americans visitors and the rebranding of Freeport itself and Our Lucaya within this context, both of which are in their embryonic stages.
Already connected by history and trade through the Panama Canal, The Panamanian-Bahamian connection is about to get a boost in terms of two-way flows between the two countries made easier by nonstop and efficient air service. Bahamians will in all likelihood visit Panama in droves especially The Colón Free Trade Zone.
The Zone is at the Atlantic gateway to the Panama Canal and is "dedicated to [the] re-export [of] an enormous variety of merchandise to Latin America and the Caribbean. It is also the largest free zone in the Americas and second largest in the world."
Even as economic storm clouds continue to appear on the horizon, the Tourism Minister has sought to expand the country's options, which has included a greater effort in Canada. His efforts in Latin America promise to boost our overall market presence and provide Bahamians with additional business, touristic, educational and cultural opportunities in that region.
Mr. Vanderpool Wallace has demonstrated that he will continue to focus on the critical American market including air passengers and stop-over-visitors. The challenge that he and we continue to face is the ongoing improvement of the visitor experience and product.
This includes what we do in our homes and schools, businesses and civil society and heritage and cultural organizations to ameliorate the underlying sociological challenges which will enable more of us including our young men to take advantage of the world's premier industry, one that has proven sustainable for an ever diversifying Bahamian economy.
Despite the critics, the armchair pundits with grand but unworkable schemes and the self-serving and uninformed statements by some politicians who proved to be failures in tourism and aviation, the Tourism Minister has significant accomplishments.
There is probably no one who wishes that even more can and should be done in our primary industry than Vanderpool Wallace whom some are content to blame for much of the country's challenges in tourism while rarely giving him credit for successes in the same.
In difficult times the Minister of Tourism and Aviation has posted an impressive record. In better times, the country will be able to build on that record.
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