Bahamas resort lays off 800

By Melissa Bryant
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

~~Adz:Right~~ NASSAU, Bahamas - THE Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas has confirmed that it has laid off about 800 employees, a startling 10 percent of the work force at the country’s largest private employer.

According to BBC Caribbean, the Resort blames the move on low occupancy rates, which is the result of a steep decline in visitors from the US. Hundreds of other hotel workers have already lost jobs or seen their hours reduced.

In an address to the nation this week, Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham warned that there could be job losses in the sector and that major hotels and resorts on New Providence and Paradise Islands have experienced their lowest occupancy rates in many years.

According to Ingraham, the tourism sector will see a further six percent decline in visitors this year, coupled with an expected slowdown in investment in resort and hotel development on the island.

The Bahamas’ economy is driven by tourism and financial services, with tourism and tourism-driven construction comprising 60 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Last year a total of 4.6M tourists visited the island, compared to 4.7M in 2006 and over 5M in 2005.

Ingraham revealed the government’s plan to deal with the challenges.

“The approach was developed in light of the very high degree of uncertainty as to how the future may unfold, the advice of the International Monetary Fund and the potentially very serious fiscal situation that we may face,” he said.

He proposed increasing government’s spending through borrowing as a way to cushion the impact of the economic crisis. He added that the government was reviewing its capital investment programme to accelerate those projects that would contribute most to dealing with the emerging employment problem.

A dozen such projects were listed, including the redevelopment of the Lynden Pindling International Airport, the construction of three government office complexes, the completion of a new Registrar General’s office and the construction of a new Straw Market.

Ingraham announced that assistance programmes would be enhanced for poor families and the unemployed and there would be aggressive promotion of tourism. Additionally, the government housing scheme has resumed and several hundred houses are slated for construction by the end of next year.