President of the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union, Wesley Ferguson commented on the impact of crime on the taxi industry in The Bahamas recently.
Ferguson said guests are reluctant to take taxi tours around the island. ”The narrative in the tours have actually changed dramatically and basically the narrative is just about crime. Instead of us showing the natural beauty and the lust of our island the conversation on the tour is normally questions about crime. I’ve heard the Minister of Tourism say that he had a meeting with all the major stakeholders in the tourist industry. Well I don’t know who he considers to be the major stakeholders. In fact taxi drivers are the first set of people that the tourist encounter. These are the ambassadors. These are the ones who are defending the country.”
The union president added, “at the airport I’ve had taxi drivers say that they have had major fallouts. They have regular customers that come back this time of the year, return visitors, who have cancelled and say they no longer trust the safety in The Bahamas and in fact, I’ve heard many of the major stakeholders, as they call themselves, say they feel safe in The Bahamas but I certainly don’t feel safe as the taxi union president. I always have to look over my shoulder during the night time especially.”
In the House Of Assembly on Wednesday, the Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, the Hon. Chester Cooper revealed plans to combat the fear of crime in The Bahamas.
