Will we be ready?

It is a question that communities across the country often find themselves asking in the wake of multimillion-dollar announcements for large-scale anchor projects. Infrastructure, labor, entrepreneurship and demand - these aspects of large foreign direct investment-fueled tourism developments feel like afterthoughts overshadowed by the tantalizing lure of immediate bulk job creation and the tenuous promise of long-term economic growth and trickle down empowerment for struggling or burgeoning communities.

Although this issue most often rears its head in the Family Islands, one need look no further than New Providence's Baha Mar to see the pitfalls of ambition without adequate preparation.

And now South Eleuthera appears primed to take on the same hopes and fears. The recent announcement of a $100 million Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences at Cotton Bay sparked an immediate wave of relief and optimism for an economically long-stagnating region of the country.

The announcement of the first phase of the development, which will include a 115-room hotel and 40-lot residential subdivision, dominated the proceedings of last week's Eleuthera Business Outlook (EBO) as members of the government, the island's business community and local and national civic groups gathered to address the immediate concerns facing the island and draw the roadmap for the island's economy and workforce ahead of the resort's opening.

Prime Minister Perry Christie stated during the conference's keynote address that Eleuthera was "on the move". He noted during the signing of the heads of agreement for the development earlier this month that the project is expected to create roughly 300 permanent and 200 construction jobs in the initial build out of the property, yet there is already talk of considerable work permit concessions for foreign employees.

Although initial reactions to the Four Seasons announcement earlier this month were at the least cautiously optimistic, some have been quick to draw the comparison between the proposed South Eleuthera property and the failed Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma. That resort shuttered its doors in 2009 before reopening under the Sandals brand.

Several EBO speakers acknowledged the failed project, citing the flagging performance of the country's tourism sector following the 2008 recession and more tellingly a lack of direct community involvement as the driving forces behind the resort's failure. But there is much work to be done beyond stronger collaboration between developers and locals. The South's infrastructure, particularly its existing airport and medical faculties, is in sore need of upgrading in order to accommodate the desired influx of visitors and their needs; its human capital must be improved; and Eleuthera's business community and entrepreneurs must adapt to the needs of the property in a relatively short timespan.

Infrastructure
As is the case in many islands throughout the country, Eleuthera struggles to boost its airlift. The Rock Sound International Airport must be renovated in short order.

Christie spoke candidly of these infrastructural concerns, promising an International Air Transport Association (IATA) compliant international airport facility to accommodate the resort and the region. However, details regarding the airport and additional infrastructural projects, including an expanded medical clinic, remain elusive for now, though Christie said he would elaborate on certain projects during the upcoming budget debate in Parliament.

As in the capital, access to reliable and affordable power remains one of the greatest sources of frustration and bafflement among many of Eleuthera's businesses and citizens. The Electricity Act Amendment Bill, 2015 aims to provide relief to communities by allowing the use of renewable energy technology for homes (and potentially businesses) in areas where constant electricity outages cause significant negative social or economic impacts.

While the proposed legislation appears aimed at primarily assisting Family Islands, the high entry cost for renewable energy technology and the draft nature of the legislation speak to the need for more comprehensive reforms of the Bahamas Electricity Corporation (BEC).

Higgs & Johnson attorney and Eleutheran Christel Sands-Feaste called attention to the myriad infrastructural improvements that the community needed in order to contribute to the Four Seasons development's success. Preparation, she argued, was absolutely essential moving forward.

"The welcomed announcements of the improved airport...to IATA standards and the new clinic - all of these things are great benefits in [drawing] investors to The Bahamas. This is a critical time for the development of Eleuthera. I encourage [businesses] to plan, prepare, and retool," she said.

Labor
Christie was similarly frank in discussing the issues facing the island's labor market and revealed that the Four Seasons developers had insisted on somewhat more lax work permit policies to ensure that the resort could maintain the Four Season's standards.

Although job creation was touted as one of the proposed project's main draws, Christie said at the EBO that concessions were needed in ensuring a level of brand quality for the developers.

"Governments are faced with such realities and have to make decisions. They have to make decisions to the degree to which trained labor and levels of sophistication are necessary and available, because they also found that when they were in Exuma some of the [workers] came, stayed one week and said, 'I don't like it. I miss my mommy. I'm going home.' There is a tremendous difficulty culturally in getting people to adjust in moving. We have to make compromises."

However, Christie did not go into further detail regarding the number of permits sought by the developers, nor the nature of the positions to be held by work permit holders.

Cotton Bay Holdings Project General Manager Juan Pulido delivered an optimistic but reserved speech at the conference, noting that the resort hoped to attract the expanding South American market in the future. However, Pulido acknowledged the difficulty in finding skilled, multilingual workers in the country, a sentiment frequently echoed by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC).

Aside from the immediate job prospects within the resort itself, EBO speakers addressed island-wide concerns in the labor force. Sands-Feaste in particular weighed in on the issue of human capital development and pleaded with business owners and employers to start work in earnest developing soft skills.

"Focus on customer service. Train your staff, that doesn't cost one dollar, and do that now. We wish to leave a lasting impression on our fellow Bahamians who are coming to the island of Eleuthera to invest and people who are investing in Eleuthera for the first time," she said.

Entrepreneurship
Although thankful for the potential for increased visitor traffic and destination exposure through the Four Seasons development, many small businesses in central and southern Eleuthera appear more concerned with making it through the slow summer months and following year as the summer heat sets in and tourist and second home owner numbers dwindle.

One such business owner is Tripoli Burrows, proprietor of the Blue Seahorse Deli in Rock Sound. Just six weeks into operations, the deli and adjoining souvenir shop run by Tripoli's sister is one of the area's newest businesses. While Burrows welcomed the announcement for the multi-million resort, he believed that Rock Sound, and Eleuthera in general, were caught in a "chicken and egg" cycle between infrastructure and large-scale development without a clear idea of which would come first.

"To start with I had to order all my machinery and they don't make them here so I had to order them from the states or get them from Nassau, but they have a limited variety.

"This was the first set of things that I got in from the U.S. since VAT came into effect and I just found that I ended up paying more on shipping and taxes than I did on the machines themselves," said Burrows, noting that he ultimately spent roughly $1,200 on $500 worth of equipment in order to purchase, ship, and clear it.

Burrows' shipping woes are hardly unique to Eleuthera. Arawak Port Development Company (APD) CEO Michael Maura stated at the Bahamas Business Outlook (BBO) earlier this year that Family Island importers paid "three times the cost" as New Providence-based businesses to import construction and business essentials.

Maura argued that a series of reforms to the country's port infrastructure to accommodate larger vessels would ultimately reduce import fees for Family Islands businesses. However, it remains unclear whether the government intends to overhaul many of its existing ports. Maura specifically highlighted the problems facing Rock Sound businesses at the time, stating that high surcharges for essential imports could likely drive investors elsewhere.

Although representatives of the Bahamas Venture Capital Fund strongly encouraged Eleuthera's young entrepreneurs to capitalize on the opportunity represented by the Four Seasons development, Burrows believed that the entry cost of doing business had already disadvantaged him and other small businesses. For small Family Island businesses to flourish, he said, the country's tax systems needed adjustment.

"So it makes that whole entry fee in trying to start a business high. That's the though thing about getting started. Taxes make it tough," Burrows said.

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