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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2022
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‘Breath of fresh air’: 150k cruise arrivals over Xmas By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Downtown Nassau Partnership’s (DNP) co-chair yesterday hailed the increase in cruise ship traffic as a “breath of fresh air” for business with close to 150,000 passenger arrivals forecast for Christmas week. Charles Klonaris told Tribune Business that Bay Street merchants he has spoken to all disclosed that retail sales were matching preCOVID levels or “even a little higher”, which they were attributing to the Nassau Cruise Port’s ability to accommodate larger and more ships. Confirming that the cruise port expansion is already having “a huge” impact for downtown Nassau, even though its $300m transformation has yet to be completed, he added that this festive period is “very important” for retailers, restaurants and other downtown businesses that suffered a fearsome two-and-a-half year battering from the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions.
• Downtown retail sales back to preCOVID ‘or higher’ • Some 56k passengers in 3 days; occupancy at 114% • ‘Wonderful chance’ to boost spend yield, leaving ship With the first ‘normal’ Christmas for three years in sight, Mr Klonaris told this newspaper: “I’ve spoken to a few retailers, and what they’ve told me is things have much improved from the previous year, and they’ve back to 2019 or even a little bit above that. They’ve very optimistic.
“The big factor is even though the cruise port is not completely ready, the fact we are getting so many more cruise ships means they’ve had a very successful impact on retail downtown. There are so many tourists coming through at once on to Bay Street, it has an impact on retailing. “Even though COVID has reached a point where we don’t need all the lockdown restrictions and masks etc, it still takes time to restock your store and get your consumer back downtown. It’s a near threeyear period that has affected retail downtown. But the amount of cruise ships that are calling is having a huge impact. It’s a breath of fresh air for downtown.” Mike Maura, the Nassau Cruise Port’s chief executive, yesterday disclosed to Tribune Business that some 55,957 passengers arrived in the Bahamian capital over the past three days since Monday. That number was achieved via 13 vessel calls and, based on an average passenger headcount of 4,304, the 34 cruise ships
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Gas station warning of New Year lay-offs By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A GAS station operator yesterday warned the 24 percent minimum wage increase will “almost certainly” force the sector to cut staffing levels unless the Government grants a longawaited margin increase. Vasco Bastian, the Bahamas Petroleum Dealers Association’s (BPDA) vice-president, told Tribune Business that the industry’s business model must be modernised and switched from fixed price-controlled margins on gasoline. He added that gas station convenience stores, a key
revenue centre for dealers, are also being hit by the Government’s expanded grocery price control regime and reduced margins on breadbasket items. With the industry’s gross profit margins largely fixed at a time when a wide variety of expenses are rising, Mr Bastian said petroleum retailers are being left with no choice but to cut costs if they are to survive. The sector is among those that will also have to absorb the $50 per week increase in the minimum wage, which is set to rise from $210 to $260 come New Year’s Day, given that a number of employees earn this level of take-home pay.
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Water Corp: $1.2m claim was resort financing ploy By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Water & Sewerage Corporation has defeated a $1.227m damages claim for trespass that it alleges was merely a ploy attempting to force it to finance a planned Andros eco-resort. Justice Diane Stewart, in a December 2, 2022, verdict found the state-owned utility had established possessory title to land that housed the water tanks and storage facility supplying Mangrove Cay given that their presence had gone unchallenged for some 26 years.
She ruled that Carla Braynen-Turnquest, who had accused the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s infrastructure of trespassing on property she owned, did not have documentary title to the disputed land given the multiple “inaccuracies” in the paper trail. Ms Braynen-Turnquest had alleged she first became aware of the utility’s presence in 2009, when she asked Emile Ledee, a qualified surveyor with Bahama Geomatics Ltd, to survey what was alleged to be a 660-acre property to determine its boundaries. However, it emerged
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SCHOONER BAY
‘I want Schooner Bay progress’, says ex-PM • Developer in baffling break with Sterling Global By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net AN EX-PRIME minister yesterday asserted he wants to see “progress and development” at an Abaco community once held up as sustainable development model following its baffling break with a former management partner.
Dr Hubert Minnis, who owns a home at Schooner Bay, spoke out after the project’s principals informed homeowners why they had severed ties with Sterling Global Financial only to retract this explanation just three days later. They then issued a new e-mailed message on December 14, 2022, that was vastly different in
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