The Tribune was told yesterday that more than 30,000 visitors are holidaying in these private homes.
Kerry Fountain, executive director of the Out Island Promotions Board, said a major worry for hoteliers was that out of the estimated 235,000 annual visitors to the Family Islands more than 30,000 – or 12.8 per cent – of them are staying in private homes.
He explained that while the Promotions board recognised the benefits derived by the community when foreign investors purchased second homes in the Family Islands, they were concerned that the owners – who are unlicensed when it comes to acting as an unofficial holiday home – were receiving all the benefits from operating a business in one of the top caribbean tourist destinations. They were doing so without paying any of the fees and government taxes applicable to traditional vacation properties.
As a result the government has been urged to introduce the necessary regulations to cover the sector and create a level playing field for legitimate hoteliers and foreign owners of private homes who wish to rent out their property.
Another concern for the Family Island tourism industry was the boating fee increases. Out of the 235,000 annual visitors to family islands 50,000 lived on a boat during their stay. Mr. Fountain said the government needs to make decision on this issue that balanced a need for increased revenue and the concerns of the boaters.
Figures from the Ministry of Tourism’s survey for the first six months of 2003 showed that the total number of private boaters visiting the Bahamas had fallen by 38 per cent compared to the year-before period, dropping from 101,617 to 62,998.
By Yolanda Deleveaux, Tribune Business Reporter at the Caribbean Marketplace Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico
