Tuesday, December 8, 2009

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"When you rob a tourist you rob yourself" By Scott Armstrong ~ Guardian Business Editor ~ scott@nasguard.com: THE junior minister of tourism Lincoln Deal has strongly criticized the armed robbers who recently attacked 18 tourists, saying the perpetrators were taking food out of the mouths of Bahamians and harming the tourist industry. As reported in The Nassau Guardian, two men armed with shotguns held up the passengers of the Disney and Royal Caribbean cruise lines while they were on a tour of the Bahamas Association for Social Health's (BASH) Earth Village in Chippingham (at the former Perpall Tract Well Field) on Friday. The men tied up the Bahamian tour guide and forced the visitors to the ground before robbing them of money, passports, cell phones, credit cards and other personal items. The incident has led to fear that The Bahamas' international standing as a tourist destination could be harmed. Deal said: "Do you think tourists would be attracted to a country that would put a threat on their lives? "No matter how much we dredge or how many Miss Universe pageants we hold, without the cooperation of the entire Bahamas, we would be in a serious problem. "The Bahamas does not have an invincible tourism industry where we could have a 'wild wild west' downtown one day, and tourism arrivals would reach its peak another day "Tourism is a continuously growing industry that demands the help of each and every individual. When you attack a tourist. You attack yourself. When you rob a tourist, your rob yourself. The minister said that while The Bahamas cruise visitor arrivals in the 3rd quarter were 235,931 for this year, compared to 178,189 in the 3rd quarter last year, the nation had to stay focussed to keep the number rising. He said: "As a young person, and working in the tourism sector, I feel that these persons must pay for their actions, and understand what they have done. "To the young persons who travel our tourist attractions daily. I urge you, to be on your best behavior. Think again; you do not want the take the bread out of your own mouth." Tuesday, November 24, 2009