The Ministry of Tourism and Aviation and Transfer Service Providers (TSP) seal their partnership with a handshake. Pictured (from left) are Raymond Harrison, General Manager of Tours and Entertainment in Ministry of Tourism & Aviation; Vernice Walkine, Director General of Tourism; Julian Francis, TSP Chairman and Dr. Johnathan Rodgers, TSP President. (Photo: Derek Smith/BIS)
Nassau, The Bahamas -The Ministry of Tourism and Aviation has
partnered with Transfer Solution Providers Ltd. (TSP) to launch the new Tourist
Mango Card.
The
Tourist Mango Cards allows for cashless financial transactions with
merchants. Visitors or other individuals
who purchase the cards can make payments for services or to purchase goods. The cards will be available for purchase in
varying amounts, up to $100.
Vernice
Walkine, Director General of Tourism, said the tourism professionals in the Bahamas
are always seeking to exceed the expectations of guests. The card will allow this to be accomplished
through enhanced safety and convenience, she said.
“Visitors
to the Bahamas will be able to make transactions with added convenience and in
a much safer environment due to the electronic payment system offered by this
Bahamian software and technology company,” Ms. Walkine said. “The safety of the card has benefits that
will outlast our guests’ time in the Bahamas. When they return home, we will be
the beneficiaries of an enhanced reputation due to the improved safety that
these electronic payments will provide. We want to always be seen as a safe
destination in which visitors move about freely. They can window shop and make
purchases without hassle and without falling victim to crime.”
Officials sign Tourist Mango Card agreements. Pictured (from left) are Vernice Walkine, Director General of Tourism; Julian Francis, TSP Chairman and Dr. Johnathan Rodgers, TSP Chairman. (Photo: Derek Smith/BIS)
Dr. Johnathan
Rodgers, president of TSP, said 85 cents of every tourist dollar eventually leaves
the Bahamas. In the case of arrivals by
sea, estimates are as high as $13 leaving the country for each dollar that remains,
he said.
“This really
shows that there is a tremendous leakage of moneys out of the Bahamas and this
economic model is not sustainable,” he said. “We have a GDP of about $6 billion
and tourism accounts for 60 percent of that GDP. If we can increase the amount of money that
stays here by five cents, this will translate into another $1.2 billion staying
in the Bahamian economy every year, and this is almost as much as government
makes in total every year.”
Julian Francis,
chairman of TSP, said the Bahamas has not maximized the economic possibilities
of the tourism business. He said there
is a market of roughly 4.5 million tourists coming to the Bahamas every year,
and they provide business that Bahamians can tap.
Mr. Francis said
tourists are used to the convenience of cashless transactions in their home
countries. He believed that they would
be eager to utilize the Tourist Mango Card while visiting the Bahamas.
TSP estimated
that the Tourist Mango card will be available within two months.
