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Last Updated: Dec 9, 2017 - 11:33:11 AM |
DPM Turnquest debunks headline that falsely stated, 'Wynn Group’s offer for Grand Lucayan strip accepted'
By The Bahamas Weekly News Team
Dec 9, 2017 - 11:25:30 AM
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Hon. Deputy Prime Minister, K. Peter Turnquest addresses The Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board Directors. (Photo; David Mackey/ TheBahamasWeekly.com)
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Freeport, Grand Bahama Island - Friday, December 8th, Deputy Prime Minster, MP and Bahamas Minster of Finance, Hon Perter Turnquest was the guest speaker at The Grand Bahama Island Tourism Board's Directors’ meeting and luncheon held at the Grand Lucayan. At the luncheon, Minster Turnquest spoke on a number of issues. One of the most notable was his reference to the Newspaper headline, 'Wynn Group’s offer for Grand Lucayan strip accepted.' Chuckling, Turnquest had this to say, "I saw the Newspaper Yesterday myself and when I saw it, I called the Minister for Grand Bahama right away and said, you didn't tell me, how come I got to read it in the Newspaper?" Continuing to chuckle Minster Turnquest went on to say, "Well, unfortunately, the truth of the matter is, we're not there yet. it appears that we're very close, very very close. If I read the tea leaves right, but we're not there yet"
DPM Turnquest noted that, Grand Bahama is at it's lowest point in terms in tourism he said that, "Abaco is now outstripping Grand Bahama in terms of numbers and in terms of contributions to GDP. If you look at Abaco today, they are booming . Almost full employment... and that used to be us (Grand Bahama)."
The DPM brought up Royal Oasis saying, "We all know the Royal Oasis story where the investor basically walked away. We are working very hard to ensure that, that doesn't happen again. The government has been working through the Minister of Grand Bahama to try and bring that investor back to the table to either invest in the property or to dispose of it to some individual investor group that may be interested in bringing it back to its former glory or deconstructing it and doing something else with that property, rather than having it sit there as an eyesore and testament to the decline of our tourism sector." The minister expressed cautious optimism saying, "We have expressed to them our desire in very very strong terms."
Of the notion that Grand Bahama Island should perhaps get out of the tourism business, the minister said, "There are many who believe that Grand Bahama cannot rebound and may be Grand Bahama should not be in the tourism business. Personally, I have a very strong view to that...and even some of my colleagues are of that view. Whenever Grand Bahama comes up, they are of the view that we've tried it, we've spent a lot of money in Grand Bahama, they've had booms and busts all the time and nothing seems to be sustainable...I strongly reject that notion. I believe that Grand Bahama has some very unique and very significant features that if we were to exploit and take advantage of that, we could create a special market for ourselves and do very very well in tourism. When you look at the infrastructure that we have, probably the best in the region...I'm sure you're like me, tired of hearing people come to Grand Bahama saying all this infrastructure you have, how come it doesn't take off? What's the problem?" Minister Turnquest stated, "when visitors come to a destination, they want to be in a clean safe environment, they don't want to look at squalor and people who are in need, they want to be safe, they want to be able to relax, they want to be comfortable. We have that here in Grand Bahama." As a result of the economic downturn Turnquest pointed out that Grand Bahama has lost a lot of talent to other islands, stating that he, "runs into them almost everyday where the first question is, when are you guys gonna get Grand Bahama back up and going because I want to go home." As to the reputation of Grand Bahama has as a destination in serious need of customer service improvement the minister had this to say; "I'm a realist about this, I recognize that a lot of the attitudes that we see and the lack of enthusiasm has to do with the overall circumstances of the island, a lot of the pressures that people have in their daily lives. So I think a combination of getting the economy back up and going, getting people more comfortable in the personal circumstances, continuous training and opportunities for apprenticeships and other formal exchange opportunities will get our overall team back up to a level that we can all be proud of and that could provide valuable service for our guests."
Minister Turnquest implored hoteliers to encourage their guests to venture off of their properties to experience Grand Bahama Island in a broader way so as to have more memorable experiences that are not only more enriching for them but also helps the broader Grand Bahama business community. Of our local characters minster Turnquest referenced the late Jack Parker stating, "we tend to want to hide our people and hide the characters that exist in our society. Jack Parker, God rest his soul, an annoying fella for most of us but, he was a character...and even in a bad experience people would go away saying, we went out and this guy was playing his guitar and he was a character and they laugh about that, it's a memory. Too often, we shield our guests thinking that we're doing them a favor shielding them from these kind of experiences, when in truth that's what it's all about. That's the native tourist experience and that's the kind of thing that people go away remembering and valuing because it's something that's unique and different.
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