by Richard Coulson
First published in The Tribune...
Recent conversations with Ed Fields, the energetic leader of Downtown Partnership (DNP) lead to better understanding of the challenges faced by that private sector body in its continuing campaign to improve the entire central Nassau, in particular to rejuvenate Bay Street east of East Street.
In its role as catalyst and planner, DNP has no capital nor approval power of its own. Every major project demands funding from the private sector and the long process of permit-seeking from government departments. DNP is working hard to move the privately funded harbour-front boardwalk towards visible reality and is undertaking other initiatives.
But Mr Fields admits DNP suffers the lack of any over-all development plan, whether created by Government or by some private (probably foreign) investor group.
His words coincided with Tourism Minister D’Aguilar’s oft-repeated press laments about the miserable condition of the Prince George Dock reception area and the unappealing tourist amenities offered locally.
These contribute to 80 percent of Nassau cruise passengers staying on board, and another fraction taking an immediate taxi to Atlantis, with minimal economic benefit to our capital city. He refers to a Tourism Port being planned as a public-private partnership, designed to have a major impact on local tourism.
To this observer, a principal source of funds for such an undertaking can only be the cruise lines themselves. Yes, they already pay port fees to dock here and buy a few local supplies, but they must be encouraged to make a capital investment. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Disney, Holland-American, Regent, Celebrity, MSC and any others should be brought together to make proportional contributions to a vastly improved dock layout and a attractive reception area including Rawson Square and Woodes Rogers Walk. One feature might be electric minibuses shuttling from the ships themselves to several downtown unloading points.
The Tourism Ministry could use a combination carrot and stick policy to persuade cruise lines to cooperate. Reductions in port fees could be offered; coupled with a refusal of any new or expanded Family Island beach mini-ports. In effect, the cruise lines must become true partners in Nassau itself, instead of just earning from passengers who like the ride and then stare down from the upper decks.
The creation of a radically new Tourist Port would fit hand in glove with Ed Fields’ long-range ambitions for the DNP. The port area and the rest of downtown, even the Zombie Zone from East Street, can only rise together, not separately.
Mr. Coulson has had a long career in law, investment banking and private banking in New York, London, and Nassau, and now serves as director of several financial concerns and as a corporate financial consultant. He has recently released his autobiography, A Corkscrew Life: Adventures of a Travelling Financier.
