The BHA intends to use the funding for small and medium sized hotel properties that promote the concept of eco-tourism, officials confirmed to the Bahama Journal.
“This is something we went after to see if we can have a lot of attractions as well because there are a lot of historical sites in the Family Islands,” said Earl Bethel, president of the BHA. “A person goes to a destination and he wants to know the history behind it and this is something that people will pay to see.”
In a press statement, the MIF, which is part of the Inter American Development Bank [IDB] said the funding will be channeled into a program to improve the competitiveness of the tourism sector, promote sustainable activities and diversify products and packages.
The resources are specifically for smaller tourism businesses interested in enhancing their product development and promoting eco-tourism in addition to other new products.
The funding is reserved exclusively for Family Island resort properties, many of which thrive on eco-sensitive themes that entice the guest to become enveloped in nature and draw on historical elements.
But in exchange, the hotel operators would have to boost their property standards to industry and international norms.
“This is in terms of standards, service and quality of rooms and also assist with antiquities, monuments and historical sites and venues so that each person can have a well rounded experience,” Mr. Bethel said. “It is a matter of doing a lot of training and passing certain health requirements.”
Under the terms of the arrangement for the MIF funding, the BHA also has to invest funding into the programme.
Mr. Bethel explained that approval for the funding came about after more than a year of talks with officials. Now, the details are being worked out.
The areas that are expected to be developed under the programme involve heritage, culture and nature which are billed as niche markets with a potential for further development.
According to the MIF, the funding is directed to islands other than New Providence and Grand Bahama because those areas have more limited tourism facilities and have less congested natural attractions.
“A matching grant system for financing technical assistance and the branding and marketing of pilot tourism destinations will also be financed by the program, which is designed to benefit 75 accommodations providers, 20 marinas and 50 tourism services providers, as well as other sectors of the industry,” the MIF statement noted.
Tourism officials have long recognized the boundless potential for eco-tourism to help drive this country’s economic engine while promoting a more sustainable environment, the diversification of the tourism product and reducing operating costs.
Mr. Bethel acknowledged that the concept of eco-tourism is not taking flight as fast as officials had hoped, but he explained: “Persons who are into this type of tourism are not going to broadcast it. They are the type of people who like to go to those secluded areas and deal with nature and they try to keep these sites to themselves.”
By: Tameka Lundy, The Bahama Journal
