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Introduction to Bahamas
The Commonwealth of The Bahamas came into being in 1973 after centuries of
colonial rule. After Great Britain granted The Bahamas internal self-rule in
1964, the fledgling nation adopted its own constitution but chose not to sever
its ties with its motherland. It has remained in the Commonwealth, with the
British monarch as its head of state. In the British tradition, The Bahamas has
a two-house Parliament, a ministerial cabinet headed by a prime minister, and an
independent judiciary. The queen appoints a Bahamian governor-general to
represent the Crown.
Cruise-ship tourism continues to increase, and a more upscale crowd is
coming back after abandoning The Bahamas for many years in favor of other
Caribbean islands such as St. Barts and Anguilla.
When Hubert Ingraham became prime minister in 1992, he launched the country down
the long road toward regaining its market share of tourism, which under Prime
Minister Lynden Pindling had seen a rapid decline. Exit polls revealed some
first-time visitors vowing never to return to The Bahamas under the
administration of the notorious Pindling, whose government had taken over a
number of hotels and failed to maintain them properly.
When Ingraham took over as prime minister, however, he wisely recognized that
the government wasn't supposed to be in the hospitality business and turned many
properties back over to the professionals. After a painful slump, tourism in the
post-Pindling era is booming again in The Bahamas, and more than 1.6 million
visitors from all over the world now flock here annually. In the capital of
Nassau, it's easy to see where the government's money is being spent: on widened
roads, repaved sidewalks, underground phone cables, massive landscaping,
sweeping esplanades, a cleanup campaign, and additional police officers walking
the beat to cut down on crime.
Perry Gladstone Christie -- who was elected prime minister in the 2002 general
elections -- continues to carry out those same policies to better Nassau.
Christie is the leader of the Progressive Liberal Party.
Unlike Haiti and Jamaica, The Bahamas has remained politically stable and made
the transition from minority white rule to black majority rule with relatively
little tension.
Economic conditions have slowly improved here as well. You do not see the
wretched poverty in Nassau that you see in, say, Kingston, Jamaica, though many
poor residents do still live on New Providence Island's "Over-the-Hill" section,
an area where few tourists venture to visit (although the neighborhood is gritty
and fascinating).
Nassau really is the true The Bahamas. You'd think a city so close to the U.S.
mainland would have been long since overpowered by American culture. Yet, except
for some fast-food chain outlets, American pop music, and Hollywood films,
Nassau retains a surprising amount of its traditionally British feel. (By
contrast, Freeport/Lucaya on Grand Bahama Island has become almost completely
Americanized, with little British aura or Bahamian tradition left.)
The biggest changes have occurred in the hotel sector. Sun International has
vastly expanded its Atlantis property on Paradise Island, turning it into a
virtual water world. Even more expansions have been announced, to be completed
between now and late 2007. The Hilton interests have developed the decaying old
British Colonial in Nassau, restoring it to life.
And Grand Bahama Island is in an interesting state of flux. Hotels along the
entire Lucayan strip are being either built from scratch or upgraded; the fabled
The Crowne Plaza Golf Resort & Casino at the Royal Oasis in Freeport is
experiencing a renaissance under new owners.
If there's a downside to this boom, it's the emphasis on megahotels and casinos
-- and the corresponding lack of focus on the Out Islands, which include the
Abacos, Andros, Bimini, Cat Island, Eleuthera, the Exumas, Long Island, and San
Salvador. Large resort chains, with the exception of Four Seasons and Club Med,
have ignored these islands; most continue to slumber away in relative seclusion
and poverty. Other than the Four Seasons megaresort that recently opened in the
Exumas -- complete with an 18-hole golf course -- development in the drowsy Out
Islands has been minor. The very lack of progress here will continue to attract
a certain breed of adventurous explorer, the one who shuns the resorts and
casinos of Paradise Island, Cable Beach, and Freeport/Lucaya. Little change in
this Out Islands-versus-the-rest situation is anticipated in the immediate
future.
There's another interesting trend to note in The Bahamas. After a long slumber,
the government and many concerned citizens here have awakened to eco-tourism.
More than any government in the Caribbean except perhaps Bonaire, this nation is
trying to protect its natural heritage. If nothing else, its residents realize
doing this will be good for tourism, because many visitors come to The Bahamas
precisely for a close encounter with nature.
Government, private companies, and environmental groups have drawn up a national
framework of priorities to protect the islands. One of their first goals was to
save the nearly extinct West Indian flamingo. Today, nearly 60,000 flamingos
inhabit Great Inagua Island. Equally important programs aim to prevent the
extinction of the green turtle, the white-crowned pigeon, the Bahamian parrot,
and the New Providence iguana.
Although tourism and the environment are bouncing back, many problems still
remain for this archipelago nation. While some Bahamians seem among the
friendliest and most hospitable people in the world, others -- particularly
those in the tourist industry -- can be downright hostile. To counter this, the
government is working to train its citizens to be more helpful, courteous, and
efficient. Sometimes this training has been taken to heart; at other times,
however, it still clearly has not. Service with a smile is not assured in The
Bahamas.
Drug smuggling remains a serious problem, and regrettably there seems to be no
immediate solution. Because the country is so close to U.S. shores, it is often
used as a temporary depot for drugs shipped from South America to Florida. The
Bahamas previously developed a tradition of catering to the illicit habits of
U.S. citizens, as well; during the heyday of Prohibition, long before cocaine,
marijuana, and heroin were outlawed, many Bahamians grew rich smuggling rum into
the United States. Things have improved, but you'll still see stories in the
newspapers about floating bales of marijuana turning up in the sea just off The
Bahamas' coastline and such.
Though this illicit trade rarely affects the casual tourist, it's important to
know that it is a factor here -- and so, armed with this knowledge, don't agree
to carry any packages to or from the U.S. for a stranger while you're visiting.
You could end up taking a much longer vacation on these islands than you had
ever imagined.
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