One of the worldﾴs most exclusive private islands has decided to offer those who cannot afforded its $300,000 plus per week tab an opportunity to do so for a tad less than the princely weekly sum.
Since it opened to serve the mega rich in February 2001, Musha Cay in the Exumas has catered to the individual who could afford to rent what Fortune Magazine termed the “ne plus ultra of private island retreats” for himself and 24 of his privileged guests.
For two weeks, however, November 7-14 and January 30 to February 6, the worldﾴs most exotic and luxurious private island is introducing ﾓMusha Made to Orderﾒ.
According to a wire service report, the new promotion allows as many as five separate groups of adults (from 2 to 10 in each group) as opposed to the traditional single group, to enjoy Mushaﾴs renowned service and amenities.
The lucky couples will pay anywhere from $9,600 to $40,000 for the week, depending on occupancy.
The 150-acre Musha Cay has a staff of 37, which provides around the clock world-class service to its pampered guests.
Managers at the resort said the promotion is to introduce the exclusive all-inclusive private island to ﾓnew guestsﾒ.
“Our goal is to welcome new guests to Musha Cay at a very enticing rate,” said Tom and Susan Lawson, Managers of Musha Cay. “We look forward to pampering our guests at every turn, while they do as much – or as little – as they desire.”
Musha Cay is at the very high end of vacation experiences available to visitors to The Bahamas. The possibility of expanding this end of the market remains high but Musha Cay is currently on the market with an asking price of over $50 million, which is less than Kerzner International is putting up to be a part of a $230 million gaming and resort complex in Morocco due to open in 2007.
In a recent appearance on the television programme You and Your Money, Tourismﾴs Director General, Vincent Vanderpool Wallace observed that on the whole there still remained too few links between tourism and the local economy.
ﾓWe need to have a better connection between our local economy and the tourist spend. We still import too much of what the visitor consumes in The Bahamas. And part of the mission of the Ministry of Tourism is to spend a lot more time, and you will see us focusing a great deal more on that, not just simply bringing the numbers here to our doorstep, but making certain that the economy is better plugged in so there is no doubt that you can get many rounds of that expenditure in our economy before it goes back out. That’s what economic development is all about and we will be focusing a great deal more on that from here on in,” he said.
Despite their high profile and celebrity status, resorts or exclusive private islands such as Musha Cay highlight Mr. Vanderpool-Wallaceﾴs contention that there needs to be a ﾓbetter connection between our local economy and what the tourist spend.ﾒ
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By their very insular nature such resorts are even further removed from establishing the desired linkages. If a Bahamian wanted to contact Musha Cay, they would have to call the United States, according to the information on their website. There is not a 242 number.
By C.E. Huggins, The Bahama Journal
