Bahamas ends cruise line incentive program
The Bahamas government has confirmed it has stopped paying incentives to cruise lines based on the number of passengers they bring, as most don’t even set foot off their ship.
Minister of tourism Dionisio D’Aguilar said the incentive payment has been ditched which was costing the Bahamas about $12 million a year.
"We used to provide incentives for cruise passengers to come here, but we were paying for a lot of people who didn’t come off the boat, so we scrapped all those incentives," D’Aguilar told reporters.
"The cruise companies are very, very profitable; they make a lot of money. Why are we paying them to bring cruise passengers to our port and then we’re finding that some of them are not coming off?"
D’Aguilar said any future incentives to be considered must be tied to the number of cruisers that actually come off the ship and spend money in the destination.
"We need to be more focused and more targeted in our incentives," he said.
He acknowledged that cruise passengers have been put off by a lack of shore excursion options and quality services.
"We need to adjust and accommodate and improve most importantly the customer experience here at the port, and provide additional opportunities for small businesses to make a decent living at that port."
Port redevelopment will in time offer ‘a better offering of goods, and food and beverage options so cruise passengers will be minded to come off the ships and spend more money in the port.’
This will also include ‘a better choice of excursions,’ Minister D’Aguilar added.
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