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THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 2022
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Tourism in ‘huge win’ on COVID test ease By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
peak winter season, while also “going a long way” to maintain the pent-up demand for Bahamian vacations that had existed prior to the Christmas/New Year holiday. Besides “saving and protecting” guest bookings already made, Mr Sands said the move also “eliminates any roadblocks for potential bookings” that may be made in the coming weeks and months by easing the healthrelated protocols that must be complied with for entry to The Bahamas. The Bahamian and tourism resort industry had become increasingly fearful that the peak winter tourism season, which typically runs from February to April, would be curtailed and undermined by the Government’s original plan to mandate that all visitors - regardless of
• Hotels chief says: ‘Booking roadblock eliminated’ • Move ‘saves and protects’ peak tourism millions • ‘Gets rid of angst’ for up to 90% of travel market
BAHAMIAN tourism was yesterday said to have secured “a huge win” after millions of dollars in visitor bookings were rescued by the Government suspending tougher COVID testing measures. Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business the Davis administration had “addressed a significant amount of industry concerns” by halting plans that would have required vaccinated visitors to obtain a negative RT-PCR test result during the three days before travelling to this nation. He added that the Government’s action “removes any impediment to booking demand” for the upcoming
ROBERT SANDS
KERRY FOUNTAIN
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Realtor unveils his rent-to-own crowdfund plan By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMIAN realtor yesterday predicted his crowdfunding-driven rent-to-own initiative could build a $10m property portfolio within two years, adding: “The sky’s the limit.” Matt Sweeting, broker with 1 Oak Bahamas, told Tribune Business that talks with legal
advisers on the proposal were just about complete and he hopes to launch it during the 2022 first quarter as a solution to home ownership dreams for many Bahamians. Anticipating “huge demand”, he explained that his plans were targeted at Bahamians in good financial standing with the potential to obtain home loans but who are nevertheless shunned by mortgage lenders because they are
either self-employed or work in seasonal industries such as tourism. Given the latter industry’s status as The Bahamas’ largest private sector employers, Mr Sweeting said his rent-to-buy initiative offered an alternative financing mechanism for such workers to realise their housing ambitions without having to come up with the
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MATT SWEETING
Realtor sees ‘bumper year’ over 400% transaction rise By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A WELL-KNOWN Bahamian realtor yesterday revealed that his firm enjoyed a “bumper year” in 2021 with closed property transactions increasing by 400 percent year-over-year. George Damianos, president of Damianos Sotheby’s International Realty, told Tribune Business he was optimistic that 2022 would be equally as strong for the high-end market the company specialises in following 2021’s five-fold jump as he forecast the sector will “stay strong” for another two years at least. Suggesting that the COVID Omicron variant
was unlikely to dampen international buyer interest in The Bahamas unless border/travel restrictions were unreasonably tightened, he added that the Government’s recent move to eliminate the 12 percent VAT rate on the portion of property purchases valued over $2m would create a further “psychological” boost that aids the sector. “We had a bumper year in 2021. We were up 400 percent over 2020 on closed transactions, volume and value,” Mr Damianos disclosed to this newspaper. “Our average list price today is $2.5m, and the average sale price in 2021
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Tourism urges Gov’t to cut 14-day quarantine By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN tourism operators are urging the Government to reduce the 14-day COVID quarantine period, and bring it into line with US and UK measures, to give a further peak season boost. Robert Sands, the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) president, told Tribune Business this was the “outstanding issue” the sector wants addressed given concerns that the mandated isolation period is deterring visitors from coming to
this nation for fear they will have to spend two weeks here if they test positive for COVID-19n during their stay. “The issue we think remains outstanding, and we continue to address with the Government, is for them to give consideration to the length of the quarantine period,” he said, “which has been reduced in the UK from 14 days to seven days, and in the US to just five days. “We’re currently at 14 days, and we’d wish it to come into line with best practices, and that
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Super Value’s solar roll-out eyes 60% energy bill slash • Roberts: $3m-$4m spend payback in under 4 years • Aims to install panels on all stores by summer 2022 • And pledges to pass savings on $1m bill to shoppers By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net SUPER Value’s principal yesterday revealed the supermarket chain is aiming to slash its energy bill by “60 percent or better” through installing solar power at all its stores by summer 2022. RUPERT Rupert Roberts ROBERTS told Tribune Business the estimated $3m-$4m investment would need less than four years to start producing financial returns given the $1m monthly bill that Super Value and its Quality Supermarkets affiliate are currently paying to Bahamas Power & Light (BPL). Pointing out that the $40,000-$50,000 monthly energy costs at Super Value’s warehouse were cut significantly when solar roof-top panels were installed some two years ago, he added that the supermarket chain would seek to pass the forecast savings from the business-wide roll-out on to consumers and ensure more money circulated in the Bahamian economy. Crediting BPL’s fuel hedging strategy for stabilising Super Value’s energy costs, and keeping them “constant” for the past 18 months, Mr Roberts told this newspaper:
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