I'm sorry to disagree - on average between 2.25 - 2.75 people enter Bahamian waters per boat.
If cruise ship passengers and airline would pay the same "per person averaged entry" fee I'd be fine with that? but they do NOT.
Also the issue is not the fee per say it is the fact that they provide no chart accuracy !
You are basically paying to have a 95 % chance of hitting the ground and they are doing NOTHING about it.
The Bahamas have no income tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, or wealth tax - OK and 17% of their income comes from offhsore financial services - fine.
they are in the tropics and get hit by hurricanes - nothing new here either - you can now install virtual AIS buoys rather thna replacing the one's that wash away -? do something - New Caledonia / Australia / Florida? all get hit by hurricanes - their charts are accurate and their lights are on point for the most part !
Now let's talk about that "food stores" argument which is total rubbish too - they import 80% of their total food consumption - because they have to with 45 % of their GDP coming from TOURISM?
- which food actually get's produced in the Bahamas ?
You want a bloody mary - you need tomato juice - pepper - Worcestershire sauce - celery - hard to gro on sand ..
?
Agriculture and fisheries industry together account for 5% of GDP -
They produce 3 things chickens citrus fruit and Lobsters ( which they export ) with some local fruits
The government officially lists beef and pork production and processing,
fruits and nuts, dairy production, winter vegetables, and mariculture
(shrimp farming) as the areas in which it wishes to encourage foreign
investment.
If the food comes from the USA orn your vessel it has been already authorized and been inspected by the FDA. It has alreay also been imported to all the hotels and restaurants - you want a steak ?
OK back to my soap box -
Now let's look at the fact that a cruiser will stay on average 1 - 2 months maybe more
they will replenish their fridges with local stores and fuel oil and water and pay for taxed products especially alcohol - stay in marinas - require services visit a bar and restaurant etc - on many occasion friends will come visit and fly in thereby filling planes and bringing even more currency into the Bahamas .
Cruisers or "yachting tourism" - and the sport fishing crowd? as a whole does not require much? infrastructure - no roads no airports no hotels and certainly no logistics to support all of this ubles syou offer it - yet the average cruiser will spend 40 - 50 USD per person per day in country - greece's study on yachts favored them above all other tourists? and Fiji's study of yachts has one additional caveat - yachts are 99% compliant with local laws as they have an asset in country - airline passengers are only 75 % compliant.
So the next time you see a government official in the Bahamas PLEASE ask him for a chart and an analysis of WHAT they provide for their entrance fee other than a smile ... I'd be smiling too if the suckers keep coming and paying.
Captain Dietmar Petutschnig
Currently in Costa Rica
