The latest mega cruise liners on the market promise to provide guests an all-inclusive vacation, including luxury shopping and mini-malls on board which in some cases rival shopping on Bay Street.
“There is no question that they are building larger cruise ships and devoting more space to retailing,” said Charles Klonaris, Chairman of The Nassau Tourism Development Board.
However, Mr Klonaris believes that with improved infrastructure, it would be difficult for cruise ships to compete with the Bay Street product.
To encourage passengers to patronise the local market, cruise ships are required to close their stores when in port. But that is of little assurance to Bay Street merchants because the rule is loosely enforced.
“It was negotiated in the past but going forward we hope the rule prevails,” said Mr Klonaris.
However, partners in the industry are sceptical that cruise ship shopping offers the same diversity and authenticity of Bahamian products as some of the Bay Street stores. Mr Klonaris feels that the right mix of diverse products and an attractive port and surrounding area would ensure more cruise visitors leave the ship and venture out to Bay Street.
The NTDB is working feverishly to improve the image of downtown Nassau, which should help boost the country’s earnings from cruise tourism.
NTDB and its partners are also in talks with some of the cruise companies for more co-operation between both sides, so that cruise operators and Nassau merchants benefit.
Carla Stuart, Director of Cruise Development at the MOT, confirmed that new incentive agreements that would be negotiated with cruise operators would take into consideration the challenges of the Bay Street merchants.
“In all of the Ministry of Tourism’s projects, our emphasis is maximising visitor spending and increasing employment opportunities for Bahamians,” Ms Stuart said.
One tourism official that wished to remain anonymous said as many as 50 percent of visitors remain on board when ships dock in Nassau, although for a number of reasons.
However, figures from the Ministry of Tourism paint a more optimistic picture, revealing that 92 percent of cruise visitors to Nassau leave the ships, with the numbers declining for Grand Bahama where 73 percent come ashore, and 23 percent for the remaining Family Islands.
However, one of the Bay Street merchants told the Nassau Guardian that even when passengers leave the ships, some hotel attractions outside of the Bay Street area “are stealing business” away from the Bay Street merchants.
Further, the source said taxi drivers add to this problem by encouraging cruise tourists to visit attractions outside of Bay Street so they are able to maximise on taxi fare.
By: BARRY WILLIAMS, The Nassau Guardian
