Thursday, January 10, 2019

Tropical Takeaways

     Three things I took away from my time in the Bahamas was how tourism drives the island, how customer experience must be assessed regularly, and how culture gives a community life.

A Junkanoo themed mural, Downtown Nassua
     Tourism is the Bahama’s largest industry. The vastness of this industry was evident in everything I saw while visiting. From the moment I left our hotel, to the walk back after a days activities, I found myself surrounded by tourists, and the Bahamians who cater to them. Walking a block without seeing a street vendor hawking souvenirs, or hearing a cab honk at us was rare. Nearly every Bahamian either worked in the tourism industry, or had a family member who did. Many emphasized the importance of tourism to the economy, some thankfully such as “Tommy Bahama” a waiter at Conch and Kalik, and some less so, such as my taxi driver who said his hard-earned degree in biology was useless as we drove from the airport. He stated he could make more driving cabs than teaching at the University of the Bahamas, the largest school on the island. The vastness of the industry could also be seen by the Ministry of Tourism, and its regulating ability. As I later learned, multinational corporations and locals fight hard to sway legislators hands, as their decisions impact the livelihood of all. 

     Much like tourism, the customer experience is especially important in the Bahamas. “Give us a positive review on Trip Advisor” was a common way to bid our group farewell. The customer experience was of particular interest to the Ministry of Tourism executives. While the Bahamas is the 4th most popular destination in the Caribbean they lamented the drop in rankings from number one. During our meeting with them, they asked many questions about our restaurant experiences, curious as to how they could improve service. I was surprised that some outright admitted the experience was in need of a revamp. The oldest executive amongst the group told us he’d seen little change since the golden days of the 1940s. This conversation, and observations throughout the trip proved the importance of examining and improving upon the customer experience to maintain competitiveness. 

     Finally I witnessed the importance of culture to forming community. One thing I was stuck by was one executive’s comment that the Bahamas hadn’t had the chance to truly develop a culture since the end of its colonial period. While I understood what he meant, I witnessed many facets of culture I saw throughout my trip, hidden beneath the touristy surface. The Junkanoo festival was perhaps the best example of that. At 2am on New Years Day, the streets became flooded with music, colors, and dancing. Large paper covered floats were followed by dancers and musicians in equally breathtaking costumes. For many Junkanoo groups, this was something they had spent all year preparing for. Witnessing people call from the stands to loved ones in the parade was something that showed me how events like these brought a community together. 
A Junkanoo Float from "behind the scenes"

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