Nassau Water Ferries looking to land $1m in revenue
By INDERIA SAUNDERS,Guardian Business Reporter,Inderia@nasguard.com
Despite the downturn in tourism, the head of Nassau Water Ferries is projecting $1 million in gross income this year, with expectations of increasing that number to $1.6 million with the arrival of a new 250-passenger boat.
Speaking primarily to owners of small and medium sized businesses, principal of Nassau Water Ferries Khaalis Rolle explained that after hitting some choppy waters, his excursion company is now steaming ahead.
“My business will do over $1 million in revenue this year,” he announced at the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce’s Business Education and Development Seminar yesterday. “We’re operating comfortably, we’re finally making money.”
His statements speak to early challenges of the company to grow its revenue from the mere $300,000 it made during its first year in operation. Rolle is now pinning further growth of his company on the arrival of the 250-passenger vessel set to expand the business even further.
“We’re currently negotiating the purchase of [the boat],” he said. “If we do get the 250-passenger vessel we will make more than $1.6 million.”
Presently the company has a 150-passenger catamaran for diving and charters as well as a 44-foot yacht for charters. The tour operator is now looking to extend those services to a beach day facility on Paradise Island.
It’s a proposal that has yet to be approved by Tourism officials, Rolle said yesterday, and without which $500,000 in construction remains on hold. That scope of works includes offices, a 7,000-sq.-ft. cabana and gift shop, botanical gardens and other amenities essential to hosting 300 visitors a day on a Paradise Island beach.
“We’re now operating out of the western end of Paradise Island and we proposed to the government several years ago to develop that area (into) a beach day facility,” he said. “That’s another long discussion.”
It’s a project years in the making, with then-minister of Investments Vincent Peet in early 2007 lauding the business as a sterling example of a Bahamian capitalizing on the country’s $2 billion tourism industry.
Specifically, Rolle’s one-day excursions to Paradise Island ferry cruise ship passengers from Nassau Harbour to the western end of that neighboring cay, landing them at Colonial Beach near the old lighthouse.
Guardian Business reported in late 2007 that the office of Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham has yet to sign off on a lease agreement that would allow Rolle to go ahead with $500,000 in construction on that public property. Without that agreement in place, he was limited to certain number of guests and forced to keep his catamaran moored, in order to provide customers rest room facilities. It would have otherwise been dispatched to pick up more cruise passengers.
