As you approach Nassau by air, massive coral-colored towers appear on the horizon, almost making it seem as if a city is rising from the ocean. This is Atlantis — the resort not the mythical city that may or may not exist somewhere under the Atlantic.
I’ve always marveled at the scale of Atlantis in a small country like the Bahamas. Situated on Paradise Island, it alone accounts for 8 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product and generates 5,900 jobs in a country with a population of just 300,000.
Doug Hanks, The Herald’s tourism reporter, writes that the resort is poised to grow even more. A $1 billion Bahamian expansion is planned.
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But Kerzner International, the developer and operator of Atlantis, has even more ambitious plans: expanding the sunken-city theme to the Middle East, Asia and beyond.
Butch Kerzner, CEO of Kerzner International, likes to invite comparisons with Disney, which has taken theme-park development to a high art form. With its underground tanks where specimen fish swim amid the ersatz ruins of Atlantis, Kerzner has shown it knows how to theme with the best of them.
But Atlantis and the planned 1,500-room expansion are inherently riskier than the Magic Kingdom for both Kerzner and the Bahamas.
While the positive economic impact of Atlantis on Nassau is undeniable, a setback for Kerzner could indeed spell trouble in paradise for a country that is so dependent on a single mega-resort for jobs and economic stimulus.
Atlantis also differs from Florida’s Disney World in another important aspect: even with jitters over terrorism in the air or an airline strike, visitors can still satisfy their craving for The Mouse by driving to Orlando.
Atlantis sits on an island totally dependent on air links. If international tourism slacks off, Disney can always beef up domestic marketing. But in the Bahamas the domestic market is minuscule.
Still, analysts like what they see when it comes to Kerzner’s growth strategy. The risk is mitigated by an important fact: In the Bahamas and internationally, much of Kerzner’s expansion plans will be funded by government partners and Kerzner will receive a fee to run the properties. Lenient tax laws in Kerzner International’s home base of the Bahamas also have helped keep the company’s debt load down.
For another view on how business intersects with government look at Chavez.
While the Venezuelan business community still isn’t enamored with President Hugo Ch�vez, it has become pragmatic.
With the failure of a recall referendum in August and recent regional elections that left almost every state in the hands of government candidates, some business owners figure they have no choice but to try to work with the current government.
Mimi Whitefield, Editor of Business Monday, The Miami Herald.
