He pointed out that the country went from having 6,000 Japanese visitors a year to 500, and that The Bahamas is not even in the top 20 when it comes to visits from the European market.
Union members, tourism employees and the country at large should not ignore this very alarming news.
Though it is stated more frequently than many care to hear, The Bahamas is close to totally dependent on tourism. No matter how many times this has been drummed into the Bahamian mind, some continue to take that dependency for granted.
While The Bahamas continues to get a large number of tourists from the United States, as Americans become more comfortable travelling, the further they may venture into Europe, Asia and the South Pacific. Our tourism product must seek to keep North Americans interested in coming, as well as enticing people from Europe and Asia.
There has been a lot of publicity over the new promotions abroad of the islands. But it will take more than that to keep people interested in The Bahamas.
And just think about the additional fallout that may occur if the hotel union continues with plans to strike, inevitably bringing poor service for tourists during the winter peak season. What will they have to say when they reach home? No matter how many millions are spent to promote The Bahamas, a strike will be detrimental.
The union and its members had better think long and hard about their plan. They had better make sure that they know exactly what they are doing. If not, they could end up shooting themselves and the entire nation in the foot.
Editorial, The Nassau Guardian
