Upon the advice of one of my sisters, I ventured into the World Famous Straw Market, now housed under a tent next to Beaumont House. What a disappointment. I wonder if the Hon. Obie Wilchombe M.P., Minister of Tourism has toured this facility lately.
The reason for my disgust was not due to the state, although that left something to be desired but the people who were by and large running the majority of the stalls, or so it appeared at least.
No longer are these Bahamians, but now Jamaicans and Haitians.
I don’t have a problem with any of these foreign nationals, What I have a problem with is their lack of respect, care and friendliness displayed towards our tourists. Remember this is our number one industry.
The Straw market has always been a place where one could see first hand the industrious nature of our people. Visitors would be met with a smile, jovial nature, even a hug, but most importantly would be made to feel welcome. Consequently tourists would gladly spend their money. Today the prevailing attitude is one of pushiness, akin to the market place in Montego Bay. Additionally that feeling of welcome is gone as the stalls personnel are smug and display behavior which can be described as anything but cordial and seemingly where English is neither – spoken nor understood.
This is a problem and it needs to be addressed urgently. People don’t need to visit our country, they have other destinations where the locals are all willing to bend over backwards to serve them. As Cuba becomes a major player in the arena, and the United States eases its sanctions, our tourist revenue will dwindle exponentially.
I understand that part of the reason for this is that there are Bahamians who now own enough stalls that they are able to hire people to run them, whilst they drive around in their European cars and collect the money. Mr. Minister please put a stop to this practice immediately. These prized stalls need to be given to deserving Bahamians who desperately want an opportunity to make it.
If you were to talk to Romeo of Romeo’s Limousines he would tell you that he treats everyone who rides in his car as though they are going to give him a million dollar tip. At the end of the day when he does not receive this, he is not discouraged, but continues in search of that elusive pay day. That is what is known as a commitment to excellence. An attitude, that needs to be adopted by everyone who works in the tourist industry.
Please let us not get to the point that the Jamaicans now face, where tourists hate to venture out of their hotels for the fear of being harassed.
Another area where there is a need for great improvement is the lost baggage claim area at Nassau International Airport. Over the Christmas Holidays in trying to track down my wife’s bag which was left in Jamaica, I had misfortune of having to deal with the agent stationed at the DELTA desk. As the bag took two weeks to arrive we were there practically on a daily basis. In that time I had the pleasure of seeing the agent manning the Delta Desk exactly twice. Thankfully the agents at the American, Continental and U.S. Air, along with the Bahamas Tourist Information Desk personnel tried to assist my wife and I where they could. However the Delta staff was always at lunch, on a coffee break or in the bathroom.
I am a Bahamian and to say I was annoyed is an understatement. But to see tourists treated in this manner, and to hear them speak about it in terms that they would not be returning to the Bahamas was enough to break my heart.
When a person arrives in the Bahamas and they don’t have their bags one of the first people to be encountered is the staff at these desks. If a sour taste is left in their mouths from the onset there is a greater likelihood that the visit would be a disaster.
Mr. Minister there was a time when we had a thriving People to People program, the incentive for taking part was a cruise, but the real treat was that the tourists got to meet and mingle with us and in our homes. We need these initiatives and more.
Further we as a people are thinned skinned. There was the story that was in a London Newspaper of a journalist being taken on a ride and back to his hotel having never gotten to his destination. The journalist claims that the taxi driver went to his house for water and drove at a less than desirable speed. Instead of investigating the same, the President of one of the Taxi Union’s was quick to say that he did not believe it, as the journalist had not taken the car number or driver’s name. Well Mr. President the story had been published and the damage done so instead of trying to find excuses it was incumbent on you to address the problem and find a solution. I have known many people who have had excursions in taxis that they would not wish to have repeated, especially where tourists are concerned, and no I don’t have any names or numbers either but I know they happened.
Tourism is the goose that lays our golden eggs, so Mr. Minister you need to adopt a hands on approach and shape up the industry before it’s too late.
Honors revisited!
At the time of Sir Gerald’s death I said that I hoped that the platitudes being heaped upon him didn’t end with his funeral. Well I fear the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister has failed to respond yet again. I would have thought that the least that could have been done was make provision for Sir Gerald Cash’s face to be placed on the currency.
I credit former Prime Minister Ingraham with honoring several Bahamians by putting them on the notes, and within a short period of Sir Lynden’s death plans were announced for him to be placed on the one dollar bill. Sir Gerald has earned his place in our history so let us as a people give him his just reward.
I know the Prime Minister and he is a good man. But the time has come for him to act Prime Ministerial and by this I don’t mean dictatorial either. The same people who voted him into office are at this point extremely agitated at what they perceive as inaction.
Pride is not an attribute that can or should inhibit the Prime Minister. After all it was this very same leader of our Government who said that he wanted to change the approach to governance, consequently he appointed various Consultative Committees. Well after almost eight months in office the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie needs to act and to be seen to be doing something to progress our nation.
Craig F. Butler
