Visitor numbers soar with Copa Airlines
Tourism officials call for improvements to sustain increases from Latin America
Visitor numbers from Latin America to The Bahamas grew by 40 percent between May and July of this year, compared with May to July of 2010, according to figures from Ministry of Tourism & Aviation.
Copa Airlines’ jet service from Panama City to Nassau accounts for 98 percent of the increase. As predicted before the flights were initiated, Copa has delivered passengers not only from Panama but also from several Latin American countries.
According to collected data, 79 percent of Copa’s stopovers for May to July were from Latin America. The top five countries were Colombia (33 %), Argentina (13 %), Panama (8 %), Brazil (7 %) and Chile (4%). American residents accounted for 2% of the passengers and another 1% lived in Europe.
“From the beginning, we knew that Copa had positioned its flights into Nassau in such a way that it allowed for connections from throughout South and Central America,” said David Johnson, director general in the Ministry of Tourism & Aviation. “The airline certainly is delivering as it promised. But this is not Easy Street for us. There are some things we need to do and some improvements we ought to make to ensure that we sustain this business and even advance it.”
Copa passengers participating in a Ministry of Tourism survey said language barriers frustrated them. A total of 38% of the respondents’ comments addressed language problems. Of all the comments that specifically addressed how the vacation experience could be improved, 44 % of those comments said better Spanish-speaking skills in The Bahamas would have brought an improved experience.
“No one spoke Spanish, and if you didn’t know English, you were doomed,” said one participant.
In addition to language problems, a large proportion of visitors pointed out that shops closed too early for their liking and prices were too high.
Director General Johnson said Bahamians should listen to the visitors’ comments, taking them seriously so that they can deliver what the customers want. He said this would increase visitor satisfaction and the recommendations that are crucial to sustaining business.
