NASSAU, The Bahamas – The College of The Bahamas can assist in showing up the fallacy that tourism is only hotels from which Bahamians derive jobs, Director General of Tourism Vernice Walkine said.
“We need institutions like this one to help to create and cultivate thinkers and doers well outside the box, although grounded in the industries’ fundamental ideals;” she said; “those who will help us to instill the message of tourism as it is: multi-faceted, all-inclusive and ripe not just with jobs, but careers, including a broad cross section of disciplines, and an industry with enormous potential for business opportunities for Bahamians,” she said.
Ms. Walkine was addressing The College of The Bahamas’ Sixth Annual Alumni Association Alumni Hall of Fame Induction and Luncheon.
Superintendent of Police in the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Keith Bell, received the honour. Ms. Walkine was inducted last year.
Ms Walkine referred to information released by the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) study, the UNWTO’s standardized methodology of measuring the economic value of tourism of the Bahamas.
The study revealed that over 15 years, tourism’s contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product rose by 44 per cent, including a 30 per cent increase in just five years, she said.
In 2003, the latest period for which this data is available, tourism directly accounted for 21 percent or $1.7 billion of The Bahamas $5.5 billion GDP total in that year, she noted.
Public administration and defense constituted 13.6 percent of the total; Real estate and business services, 13.5 percent; wholesale (and retail) 12.2 percent; banking and insurance, 11.7 per cent; and construction, 7.2 percent.
Each of these sectors attributed much of their activity to the secondary and tourism induced activities of the industry, she explained.
“Combined, the direct and indirect contribution of the tourism industry, comprised more than 60 percent of the total,” Ms. Walkine said.
In terms of wages and employment, she said, in 2003, tourism’s overall contribution was $1.6 billion in wages, which represented more than 97,000 jobs.
The country is at a point where, more than five million visitors, who spend approximately $2 billion, annually, visit its shores, she said.
“We are at a place today where the Government of the day has announced literally billions of dollars in direct foreign investment, which are either already underway or expected to be completed over the next 20 years,” Ms. Walkine said.
“From these tourism developments, the opportunities for Bahamians span across all sectors,” said the Director General.
The Ministry of Tourism’s job, she said, is “to guide the development of our nation as a collection of diverse islands.
“Our duty is to do so in a manner that safeguards a sustainable economic and social environment for the benefit of visitors and residents alike, and our message is that tourism includes everyone, that it impacts us all and we each have an integral role to play.
“Tourism is here to stay and we all need to accept that. Our philosophy must be simple as well: protect our resources and they will serve us well, stay ahead of the competition by using our brightest and best citizens, and we have a formula for sustainability.”
