The government’s initiatives in e-commerce, could reduce the cost of living in The Bahamas without reducing the level of income, thereby making more investments funds available, according to Minister of Tourism, Obie Wilchcombe.
Making his contribution in the House of Assembly on e-commerce on Thursday, Mr Wilchcombe said the Ministry of Tourism is already well-advanced in developing a number of products and services for the e-business sector.
Although he refused to disclose such products for fear of tipping off competitors to new services, he noted that it is sufficient to say that collaboration with two other government departments and with various private sector entities, had great promise.
Mr Wilchcombe said that a rapid increase in bookings for Bahamas vacations are being made over the Internet and there is no reason why such a simple process and other complicated matters, could not originate from The Bahamas.
“We have often said,” he noted, “that after the cost of airfare is excluded, some 20 per cent of the price that a visitor pays for The Bahamas vacation never makes it to the Bahamas or to a related Bahamian tourism company because of commissions and other booking-related costs.”
Even at the most basic level, without increasing the number of visitors, he continued, The Bahamas has the opportunity to grow its earnings from tourism by some 20 per cent, by simply enabling its customers to book their vacations through a Bahamian, or Bahamian-related business.
Meanwhile, Mr Wilchcombe said, by taking advantage of e-commerce and other technology initiatives, the Bahamas has the opportunity to transform the economy, lives, improve the standard of living and reduce the cost of living in The Bahamas.
“All of these possibilities, however,” he noted, “do not come unless we prepare our people and prepare ourselves through training, dedication and hard work to embrace all that is required for us to get there.”
By Tamara McKenzie, The Nassau Guardian
