The government has agreed to pay for any refunded ticket that the C-Cube company is unable to resell, according to Peter Adderley, the companyﾴs public relations officer.
This came after C-Cube officials expressed concerns over having to provide refunds to ticket holders.
Mr. Adderley claimed last night that the agreement came late yesterday afternoon.
He said that ticket holders who can prove that they will not be on the island for the Boxing Day Parade on Saturday morning or the New Yearﾴs Parade, which is now set for January 7, can return their tickets purchased with cash to the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium; and the ones purchased with credit cards to Coleﾴs of Nassau.
ﾓTo become government of The Bahamas your success is based on political decisions,ﾒ Mr. Adderley said. ﾓIn business itﾴs based on business decisions.ﾒ
On Monday, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Neville Wisdom said that refunds should be given to travellers, regardless of what is said on the back of their tickets.
ﾓIt is the intension of the government to ensure that our guests who would have been inconvenienced by this postponement be treated properly in terms of a proper refund for their tickets [and] for those tickets once refunded to be made available to the public,ﾒ he assured.
Earlier yesterday, Mr. Adderley pointed out that C-Cube was prepared to honour the agreement with ticket holders as outlined on the back of each ticket.
ﾓIf an event is cancelled, there is a refund and if an event is postponed there is the honouring of those tickets on the rescheduled date,ﾒ Mr. Adderley explained.
But he noted, ﾓThere are special circumstances. We are in business, but we understand there are times when we canﾴt be hard and fixed on a position.ﾒ
Meanwhile, the decision to postpone the parades due to inclement weather was met with mixed reaction.
Peter Hacki, a visitor from western Canada, is a ticket holder for the Boxing Day Parade.
Mr. Hacki told the Bahama Journal that his brother highly recommended that he visit The Bahamas during the holidays to witness Junkanoo. With that in mind he booked his familyﾴs vacation a few months ago in the hopes of attending the annual parade.
He expressed disappointment yesterday over the postponement, since he will be leaving town on Thursday.
ﾓI came from western Canada, 3,000 miles away, to see it on the day that it was supposed to be and nobody was there,ﾒ Mr. Hacki said. ﾓ After a while a guy told me that it was cancelled, so I thought that itﾴs okay, maybe tomorrow night it will be happening. But now I have to leave on Thursday so what I have to do now is find some Junkanoo music. What can you do? You canﾴt argue with the weather.ﾒ
When asked whether he was concerned about a refund, Mr. Hacki said, ﾓNo. Iﾴm not interested in a refund. There are some things in life you just canﾴt control and this is one of them.ﾒ
John Fernander, a Bahamian resident, meanwhile, pointed out that safety is important for participants and spectators of the parade.
ﾓIt was a wise decision that was made by the Ministry and other Junkanoo officials concerned,ﾒ Mr. Fernander said.ﾓI know that we have a lot of guests [who] come from far away to see this event, but in terms of safety and overall presentation the parade will be better and everyone will be in for a good show when the parade goes on.ﾒ
Mr. Fernander believes that any ticket holder who wishes to get a refund should be given one.
But Keith Brown, another Bahamian, disagrees.
ﾓThis postponement does not mean the end,ﾒ Mr. Brown said.
ﾓI donﾴt think the refunds are necessary for Bahamians because Junkanoo still goes on. Iﾴm very sorry that some tourists came here and will not get to see the parade, but you have to do what you have to do to protect yourself.ﾒ
Stephen Gay, The Bahama Journal
