An historic New Providence community is set to undergo significant re-development, a move which organisers say they expect will help to improve the experience of visitors to the island and create entrepreneurial opportunities for residents.
According to president of the Bain and Grant’s Town Tourism Development Board Rev. C.B. Moss, who is also a senator, the aim of the project is to incorporate the “culturally-rich” areas of Bain and Grant’s Town into the main tourism product of New Providence.
Rev. Moss said over the past several months the community-based tourism development board has been compiling information about the two communities and identifying certain residential and commercial buildings – some of which were constructed decades ago – which are expected to be sites of interest, both culturally and historically, to visitors.
“Initially we thought we would have just started immediately in integrating this community (into the overall tourism product), but upon our starting our investigation to identify these sites we came across such fascinating history of Bain Town that it’s taking us longer than we had planned to compile that,” Rev. Moss said in an interview with the Bahama Journal.
“We thought it was just as much as we knew of from the books by Dr. Gail Saunders and Dr. Cleveland Eneas, but we have come up with some fascinating things going back to the origin of Bain Town. When that is published it’s going to blow The Bahamas away.”
Rev. Moss said in addition to attracting more tourists to the Over-the-Hill communities and thereby improving the distribution of the benefits of the vital tourism industry the drive by the Bain and Grant’s Town Tourism Board is also geared toward enriching the experience of persons visiting the island.
“It was designed to expand and diversify the tourism product because we were all aware for a long time that the visitors were basically unhappy with the product once they arrived here and this, we feel, accounted for the less than enthusiastic response by the visitors in the exit polls,” said Rev. Moss.
“When asked if they would recommend The Bahamas the response was lukewarm so we determined accurately that it was not so much because of the high prices or the perceived rudeness of some of the people, but it really was because the overall experience was lacking.”
As part of the effort to create a unique experience for visitors the Bain and Grant’s Town Tourism Project will feature walking tours, surrey rides and taxi-operated tours, Rev. Moss said.
“We will see along the main boulevards like a Nassau Street or a Meadow Street little snack outlets where people who are touring the area will be able to stop and enjoy snacks of an indigenous nature like bennie cake, peanut cake, various tarts and switcher,” he said.
“We are also looking at the crafts aspect.”
According to Rev. Moss, the Bain and Grant’s Town Tourism Development Board is now preparing to move into the implementation phase of the initiative.
He said officials and property owners have already begun to clean up the area and within the next few weeks the organisation plans to launch a comprehensive beautification programme.
Rev. Moss also indicated that the Board hopes to recruit some additional help in the near future.
“We are hoping that we can interest the Ministry of Tourism into participating with us in launching this project,” he said.
“We are in discussions with (the ministry) and we hope that it will come onboard because it has the human, financial and technical resources that are needed.”
By: Darrin Culmer, The Bahama Journal
