The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is hopeful that the region’s tourism industry will rebound and “emerge stronger” once the current coronavirus pandemic has passed, citing the sector’s resilience to economic shocks.

In a joint statement CHTA CEO and director general Frank Comito and CHTA president Patricia Affonso-Dass said: “Despite the temporary dark clouds, the sun shines in the Caribbean and will continue to do so. As we come through this, the world will need the Caribbean to help it to heal.”

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned the Caribbean region to prepare for negative growth and called for decisive actions by leaders to reduce the financial fallout from the Coronavirus crisis.

“The recovery we were expecting a few months ago will not happen and a 2020 with negative growth is not an unlikely scenario,” said Alejandro Werner IMF’s Director of the Western Hemisphere Department.

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In a statement released March 21 following the announcement of the death of Atlantis Paradise Island developer Sir Sol Kerzner, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis called the South African hotel mogul a maverick businessman and pioneer.

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In light of the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, the Bahamas Development Bank (BDB) has urged The Bahamas to invest in agriculture, food production and alternative technologies to help diversify the economy.

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Baha Mar and Sandals have announced they will be closing in the next few days until further notice as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
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Pictured: Hotel tycoon and former owner of Atlantis Paradise Island, Sir Sol Kerzner. (Photo courtesy Atlantis Paradise Island)

Hotel tycoon and former owner of Atlantis Paradise Island, Sir Sol Kerzner has died of cancer at the age of 84.

Kerzner, who purchased the landmark Paradise Island property in 1994, passed away at his home in Cape Town, South Africa on Saturday night.

“Always a maverick, Kerzner was a titan of the hotel and resort industry who redefined the scale and scope of integrated destination resorts worldwide,” said Kerzner family spokesman Ian R Douglas.

A key player in The Bahamas’ tourism industry for many years, Kerzner took over the Paradise Island Resort from Merv Griffin’s Resorts International, expanding and transforming the bankrupt hotel and casino before re-opening as Atlantis, Paradise Island in 1998.

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Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced precautionary measures yesterday to protect the Bahamian people from the further spread of the COVID-19 virus.

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Speaking in the House of Assembly yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest said the Bahamian economy would not escape the fallout from the Covid-19 global health crisis, at least not in the short term.

As he presented the Statement on the Fiscal and Economic Impact of Covid-19 in the House of Assembly March 18, DPM Turnquest explained that economic growth in the short term will be negatively affected by global and domestic developments, and an overall contraction in domestic short-term economic growth is inevitable.

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The Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) is calling for banks to review their business continuity plans and promote greater use of technology as the sector grapples with the economic repercussions of the current coronavirus outbreak.

“It is now evident that it will no longer be business as usual for the foreseeable future,” CAB said in a statement this week. “Given the pivotal role of banks and other financial institutions in the macroeconomic stabilisation of every economy, the time for preparation and other planning is now. It is imperative that consideration be given to measures that may be implemented to address the immediate to short-term impact of the pandemic.”

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